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THE 



INDICATIONS OF THE CREATOR-. 



OR 



THE NATUKAL EYIDENCES 



OF 



FINAL CAUSE 



GEORGE ' T A Y L R 



Besides the pleasure derived from acquired knowledge, there lurks in jlie miud of mau, and 
tinged wi*.h a shade of sadness, an unsatisfied longing for someihing beyond the present — a 
striving towards regions yet unknown and unopened. — HUMBOLDT. 



THIED EDITION. 



NEW YORK: 

CHARLES SCRIBNER, 124 GRAND STREET. 

1859. 






ExTEEED. according to Act of Congi-ess, in the year 1S51, by 

GEOEGE TAYLOE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 

District of New Tork. 



TO 

MY FATHER, 

WHOSE KINDNESS SUPPORTED, AND WHOSE COUNSELS DI- 
RECTED ME, IN MY YOUTH ; AND BY WHOSE ADVICE THE 
LEISURE HOURS OF LIFE HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO SELF- 
IMPROVEMENT ; THESE LEAVES, GATHERED AT DIFFERENT 
TIMES, AND UNDER VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES, ARE AFFEC- 
TIONATELY INSCRIBED. 



PREFACE. 



We have been induced to submit the following 
pages to the public, by the favorable reception which 
was given to a part of the contents when published 
in another form. 

Much has been written on the same important 
subjects ; but generally the sciences have been treated 
separately. We have here made an effort to group 
them together, and to show their relations and adap- 
tations, and their necessary dependence on each 
other, believing this to be the best way to secure the 
object contemplated. 

In the collection of our facts from the domain of 
science, the most reliable Authors have been con- 
sulted, and many quotations from such have been 
introduced. And in all cases where it was possible, 
the name of the authority has been given. 



iv PKEFACE. 

We have written during the leisure hours of a 
professional life ; hoj^ing to enlarge our own view of 
the material universe and of its Author ; and we 
now publish what was thus written, with the hope 
that others may be induced to devote some portion 
of their time to the contemplation of the mysterious 
potencies which surround them, and of the Infinite 
Power by which those potencies are directed and 
controlled. 

July 28, 1851 



CONTENTS 



PAKT I 

NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS 



I. 

Nebulae of Andromeda and Orion — nersclieVs Catalogue — Gradual Condensa 
tion— Indications of Age— Stars with Ilalos— Herschers Speculations — 
Zodiacal Light — Moon's Acceleration — Crepuscular Theory— Attraction and 
Centrifugal Force — Hypothesis of Laplace — The Great Primary — The 
Modus— Distances— Densities— Motion— Increased Interest in Astronomy — 
Sir John HerscheL 31 



n. 

Increased Instrumental Power— Dumb-Bell and Dog's Ear Nebulae — ^Lord 
Eossc's Telescope — Cambridge Telescope — Xebulae in Andromeda — Its Eeso- 
lution — One in Orion — Dr. ISTichol's Keport — Lord Posse's Success — Mr. 

Bond's Triumph— Greatness and Glory of the Ceeatob 48 

1^ 



vi CONTENTS. 

PAET II. 

ASTRONOMY. 
I. 

PAGE 

Circnmstantial Evidence— Opposition to Xewton's System— iloon's Apsides 
— Clairaufs Calculations — Orbits of the Planets — Ellipsis— Eccentricities — 
Security of the System — Evidences of Design — ^Acceleration of the Moon — 
Dr. Halley— Playfair — The Supposed Laws— Eadiation and Condensation — 
The Minor Planets — Size of the Original Xebula — Orbit of Uranus 57 

n. 

The Distances and Densities of the Planets — Tenus — Mars — ITranus- Saturn 
— ^Xeptune — Exceptions — Crepuscular Theory of Light — Harmony of the 
Universe — ^Limits to all things — The Work of an Latelligent Creator 71 

m. 

The Mean observed by all Physical Forces — Convergence of the Series — M- 
Poisson — Stability of the System — The Earths Eevolution— Increase of 
Telocity, as the Square of the Distance decreases — Copernicus — Galileo — 
Descartes — Bacon — ^Milton — Locke — Xewton — Evidences of Original Design 80 



PAKT III. 

GEOLOGY. 



I. 

Age of the two Sciences— Gradual Growth of Geology— Difficulties— Increased 
Importance — Tulcanists and Xeptunists — Joint testimony of the two Sci- 
ences — Yarions Theories — Boldness of the Speculations — Their Tendency 
— Ilumau Weakness S9 



CONTENTS. Vll 

n. 

PAGE 

Development Theoet — St Hillaire and Lamarck — Success! ;e steps towards the 
Theory — Changes — New Species — Earliest Period of the Globe — Internal and 
External Forces — The Silurian System— Llandielo Kocks — Ludlow Eocl>;s— 
Old Ked Sandstone or Devonian Group — Ctenoid and Cycloid Fishes — Ele- 
vation of the Mountains — Carboniferous Formation — Its Fauna and Flora — 
No Fruits — Xo Flowers— Xo Insects or Birds — Carbonic Acid Gas— Sii 
Henry De la Beche's Estimate — No Land Animals— Formation of Coal — The 
New Eed Sandstone— Lizards— The Supposed Link — The Oolitic Formation 96 

in. 

The Texte Histoey— Division of the Silurian System — ^TTenlock — ^Ludlow— 
Llandielo and Caradoc Formations — The Unchus Mujchisoni and Tennistil- 
atus — Spines of the Aymestry Limestone — Onondaga Placoid Spines — Mr. 
Hall — Fish bones of the Oriskany Limestone — Ludlow and Bala Limestone 
Unchus — Cambrian and Silurian Systems — Opinions of Professors Agassiz, 
Owen, and Sedg\vick, Sir P. Egerton and James "Wilson — True Osseous 
Skeletons 110 

. r^- 

Old Eed Saxdstoxe — The Position of the Theorists — Their Errors — Fishes 
of the Highest Order 114 

V. 

Abteeolopis — Fossils found by Hugh Miller and Mr. Peach — Division of the 
Animal Kingdom — Departments — Classes — Orders, &c. — Order of the Aste- 
rolopis — Cranial Buckler — Size of the Fish — Evidence of Class — Brain and 
not Bone — Quantity of Ichthyolites — Impressions formed by Mr. Lea at 
Pottsyille — Their Importance 115 

YI. 

CAEBO'iFEEors Era — ^Divisious of Plants — Sigillaria — ^Dicotyledons — Mono- 
cotyledons — Pines — Firs, &c. — The Argument — Exogenous Trees — Forma- 
tions in England — Fresh Water and Marine Deposits — Preponderance of 
Certain Families — ^Dr. Lmdley's Experiments — Cotton "Wood — Southern 
Elvers — Inferences — ^Human Eemams — ^West Indian Archipelago — ^Addi- 
tional Proof 122 

vn. 

Fattna of the CAEBOxiTEEors Eea — Eecent Discovery — Carbonic Acid 
Gas — Opinion of Professor Hunt — His Experiment — Eeptilian Fossils found 
— ^Footmarks in Pennsylvania — Fossil Birds — ^Different Formations made at 
the same time — Inference — Providential Goodness exhibited ia the Coal 
Formation 13J 



Viu CONTENTS. 

Tin. 

PAGE 

New Eed Sa>t^to>"e — Permian Group — Supposed Link — Footprints in New 
Eed Sandstone — Extinction of Species — Dodo — Xestor Productos — Apteryex 
— Bison — Gradual Extinction of the Indians — The Conclusion — Testimony of 
Owen — ^Agassiz — Muller — Cuvier — Murchison — Yernuel — D'Orbigny — Mil- 
ler— Lyell— and B ell laS 



PART IV. 

COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 
I. 

Living "Witneoses of Creatire Power— Distinct Embryonic Forms — ^Yariety— 
Inorganic Elements — Contiguity — Antiaris Toxicaria — Perisperm — Germi- 
nation — Primary Differences — Globules of the Blood — ^Tital Force — ^Vegeta- 
ble Cells or Utricles — Divisions of the Egg — Primordial Elements — Adapta- 
tion of the Leaves — Buds — Fascicles — Desfontaine's Division — Flowers — 
Eoots — Effect of the Solar Piays — Distinct Principles of— Mr. Hunt's 
Investigations— Growth of the "Wood. 147 



n. 

Vegetable Vaeiett a.>t) Adaptation — The Question — Evidence of Design — 
Adaptation to Climate — Tropical Plants — Difference — Chemical and Medici- 
nal Properties— Beauty inwrought with the Useful— The Silkworm— Mul- 
berry Leaf— Mountain Plants — The Flower — The LUy — Urgurphoea — Valas- 
2eria — Protection — The Holly — Caks of Hampshire — General Protection 170 



m. 

DnTEP.EXCE IX THE Two KixGDOMS— Tissue of Vegetables— Theory of Prof. 
Schwann — Composition of the Plant — Manner of Growth — Eespiration — Or- 
gans — Fovilla Chara — Eespiiatory Xerves — Superadded Mechanism — Dia- 
phragm — Man's Superiority — TheXerves — Eegurgitation — Orbicularis — The 
Kangaroo — Impossibility of Transmutation — ^Distinguishing Features — Law 
of Eeciprocity. 188 



CONTENTS. a 

PAET V. 
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



Discoveries in Science — Tlie Earth's Figure — Zones of Temperature — Propor- 
tion of Land and "Water — The Atmosphere — Distribution and Configuration 
of the Continents— Arrangement in Pairs — Connecting Islands — Peculiarities 
— The Mountains — Importance of their Arrangement— Highest Elevations — 
Mean Eelief of the Continents — Effect of— Local Compensations — Climate 
of Europe — Of Sweden — Causes — Growth of the Cereals — Elevation of Asia 
— Importance of the Present Arrangement — Torrid Zones— Effect of Eleva- 
tion—Changes of the Earth's Surface— Springs of Antiquity 200 

n. 

The Geeat Centeal Source op Heat — Action of the Sun— Line of, during 
its Perihelion— Eadiation— Its Effects— Ocean— Saline Contents— Winds— 
Their Agency— The Atmosphere— Exchanges — Trade-TTinds — Monsoons— 
Direction— Influence upon the Temperature —Authority Doubted — All 
things Obedient to the Sttpeeioe Powt;e — The General Eesult— Local Com- 
pensations—Internal Forces 225 

III. 

The Atmosphere — Its Importance— Pressure — Composition — Volcanoes — 
IS'ature's Chemical Laboratory— The Algae- Adaptation of— Carbonic Acid 
— Oxygen— Universal Chain — Man the Eecipient— Expansion and Condensa- 
tion of "Water— Electricity and Magnetism— The Invisible Cause— The Ar- 
gument 247 

COjnOLTTSIOX 368 



INTRODUCTION 



There was a time when this Planet, now so 
crowded with life and beauty, existed in the contem- 
plation only of the Infinite Mikd. The Orbit in 
which om* pathway lies, like the immeasnrable fields 
of space beyond the existing stellar and planetary 
families, had no visible tenant. !N"o planet answered 
the primeval orbs with its language of light, or told 
of its unceasing activity by continued changes and 
varied appearances. But, even then, the mighty 
mechanism was perfect in the mind of the Eternal. 
!N'othing was wanting to fill up the varied parts with 
well adapted forms and unceasing life, but His 
Almighty mandate. 

There is no record to tell how long this state 
of things existed. We know only that Creative 
"Wisdom thought it best to introduce this sphere into 
the family ; and that in doing so, it was adapted to 



Xll INTKODrCTION. 

the varied life it was destined to support. The light 
was divided from the darkness, and the waters 
gathered together so that the dry land appeared. 
Continents were created, mountains elevated, the 
surface of the earth enlivened by streams, and the 
waters collected into deep seas, after which, the ele- 
inents were filled with animal and vegetable life. 
Thus the creation advanced, until it was prepared 
for the introduction of man, its intellectual sovereign, 
who was honored with the imas^e of the Father. 

Of this Creation, a brief history only has been 
given to mankind ; and in it, the time occupied is 
divided into periods apparently too short to agree 
with the natural phenomena. The first impression 
made by the sacred record, was, that the whole 
Creation was accomplished in a few of our modern 
days; while the geological formations induced the 
belief that unnumbered ages of active preparation 
preceded the introduction of man. These early opi- 
nions necessarily arrayed the friends of the two 
records against each other. Geologists denied the 
correctness of revelation, and the friends of the 
sacred history ridiculed geology. This conflict of 
opinions resulted unavoidably from the imperfection 
of human knowledge. One of the records was too 
literally interpreted, while the bold characters of the 
other w^ere but partially understood. 



INTBODrCTION. Xlll 

How long these difficulties would have continued 
to disturb societj^, had not other scienxjes contributed 
to widen the breach, it is impossible to say. But it 
is quite certain that the opinion of Geoffrey St. 
Hillaire, regarding the transmutation of species, 
followed up and enforced by Lamarck ; and the 
discovery of bodies in the far-off regions of space, 
supposed to be " Nebulous" in their character, were 
indispensably necessary to perfect the system of 
infidelity which fastened itself on the sciences. It 
grew gradually, not upon any single fact, but upon a 
multitude of errors which sprung up in the different 
departments of human knowledge, and which pointed 
with remarkable harmony to the same conclusions. 

The cosmogony of our globe has been a fruitful 
subject for speculation ever since the days of Pytha- 
goras. After that philosopher had enriched his mind 
with the Egyptian and Persian lore, he returned to 
his own country with a system of the world which is 
remarkable for its singular mixture of truth and 
error. It met the concurrence, however, of Aris- 
totle ; and to judge from passages in Phsedo and 
Theaetetus, Plato must have entertained similar 
views. Pythagoras contended that nothing retained 
the same image for any length of time, but that they 
did not perish, as they only changed their forms ; 
that all things were undergoing a constant change ; 



XIV INTRODrCTION. 

the earth and sea, and all that they contained. 
" Solid land," he said, " has been converted into 
■ sea, and the sea has been changed into land." Aris- 
totle, following up the same idea, says ; " The distri- 
bution of land and sea in particular regions, does not 
endure throughout all time, but it becomes sea in 
those parts where it was land, and again it becomes 
land where it was sea. . . . As time never fails, 
and the universe is eternal, neither the Tanais nor 
the ITile can have flowed for ever. The places 
w^here they rise were once dry, and there is a limit 
to their operations ; but there is none to time." 
Other ancient philosophers advocated this system; 
while another school promulgated different views. 
Thus speculation followed speculation, and theory 
succeeded theory, until the latter part of the eight- 
eenth century, when the whole artillery of learning 
and science, in certain localities, was turned against 
the Christian religion. Many causes operated to 
bring this about. 

Among the first questions for the philosopher to 
answer, and the theologian to combat, were those 
connected with the deluge. These necessarily led to 
those involved in the history of the Creation of the 
world, many of w^iich are still unsettled. The 
iJTaturalist found petrified shells scattered over the 
surface of the earth, irregularly, without any regai'd 



INTEODirCTION. XV 

to locality. The moimtain-top contained as many as 
the valley below. It appeared quite certain to 
many that these shells were of marine origin, while 
others believed that they were sports of nature. But 
supposing them to be true shells, it was difficult to 
account for their location. This the friends of the 
Mosaic record explained by the deluge, while the 
geologist thought the mountains had been raised by 
some internal force, after the shells had been depos- 
ited, and that they necessaiily carried their fossil 
freight up with them. But this suggested another 
difficulty ; by what force were these terrestrial eleva- 
tions effected ? And here was another division of 
opinion. A few savans attributed their elevation to 
earthquakes ; while the greater j)art thought the 
inequalities of the earth's surface resulted from the 
influence of the oceanic element. 

Palissy opened the debate on. these questions in 
the latter part of the sixteenth century. He con- 
tended that the fossil shells were of marine origin, 
and that they had been scattered over the surface of 
the earth, during the changes which took place from 
time to time, in the ocean. This idea was received 
with great bitterness by the theologians of that day. 
They felt the importance of sustaining the Scriptural 
account of the deluge ; and as they considered the 
location of these shells important corroborative testi- 



5V1 INTKODUCTION. 

mony, any, and all other explanations met tlieir 
unqualified displeasure. It would be difficult, if not 
useless, to trace all these questions through the mul- 
tiplied phases and forms which they were forced to 
assume. Almost every philosopher had his own 
theory, and with few exceptions, these theories were 
opposed to the Mosaic cosmogony. 

Thus these questions remained without any par- 
ticular interference or restraint, until Buffon, who 
was at the head of one of the schools, published his 
views. This was done with such boldness, that the 
Sorbonne of Paris felt it necessary to interpose their 
authority. He said in his Theory of the Earth, that 
" The waters of the sea have produced the mountains 
and valleys of the land," and that " the waters of 
the heavens, reducing all to a level, will at last 
deliver the whole land over to the sea, and the sea 
successively prevailing over the land, will leave dry 
new continents like those which we inhabit." This 
was not more objectionable than the theory advanced 
by Pythagoras and Aristotle, and others contempo- 
rary with Buffon. He, however, was compelled to 
renounce his opinions publicly, by that distin- 
guished Faculty of Theology, distinguished more for 
that act of persecution than anything else. 

But the course pursued by the Sorbonne did not 
seciu-e the object they contemplated. The theory 



INTEODFCTION. XVll 

was advocated on the continent with great ability ; 
and finally met an able advocate on the other side of 
the channel. These debates prepared the public 
mind, notwithstanding the action of the Sorbonne, 
for the Huttonian theory ; which, although denoimced 
as atheistical at the time, was warmly received by 
many of the most active and influential members of 
the learned fraternity. Hutton contended that the 
rains of an older world were visible in the composi- 
tion of this, and that there were no traces of a begin- 
ning, and no prospect of an end ; that there had 
been at least three distinct periods of animal exist- 
ence before the introduction of man ; and that all the 
changes of the globe had been effected by the agency 
of causes which were then acting gradually upon it. 

These questions, with others necessarily connected 
with them, excited the deepest interest, and the 
most searching investigation. The sm-face of the 
earth was explored, and its deepest caverns pene- 
trated. Every visible witness in the wide domain of 
nature was interrogated. The living species were 
collected and arranged, and the interior of the earth 
was forced to yield the testimony of its buried 
tenantry. 

At this time, when the excitement had attained 
its highest point, Lamarck, a celebrated naturalist, 
suggested his hypothesis of organic progress or 



Xvill INTKODUCTION. 

development. He found, in trying to arrange the 
species, that they ran into each other, or that the 
difference between them was so small, that it was 
almost impossible to tell where one ended and another 
began. It appeared also, that the greatest changes 
were effected by cultivation, domestication, &c. He 
believed that plants and animals were frequently 
surrounded by circumstances which either imposed 
restraint or stimulated unusual efforts, and by which 
their character and physical organization might be 
changed. He contended that we had an example of 
this change in wheat, as a similar plant could not be 
found as a native of any country. These changes 
are also common in domestic animals, many of whicli 
are found only in their domestic condition. Other 
animals were changed according to this theory, by 
circumstances which imposed a necessary alteration 
of some of their organs. A bird, for example, driven 
to the water for food, would stretch out its claws to 
enable it to swim, and that in these efforts it would 
finally become web-footed. 

The successors of this distinguished Savan carried 
the idea still farther. They contended that animals 
and plants, not only advanced in type and character 
during successive generations, but that there are 
natural forces capable of producing all the varied 
organisms, and that the laws by which the existing 



INTRODUCTIOir. XIX 

species were created, are still operating tu a certain 
extent. Thus, tliej assigned to the operation of gen- 
eral laws, what Lamarck attributed to the influence 
of particular causes. In doing so, they disparaged 
the influence and action of the Great Ceeatoe, 
by transferring His chief prerogatives to mere physi- 
cal forces, and by reducing Hevi to the position of a 
silent observer of the Infinite potencies which it is 
admitted, He originally created, but over which He 
exercises no control. 

Geologists reported a succession of organic remains 
in the strata of the earth's crust, and also that the 
lower or earlier denizens were of an inferior order, 
and that the character and organization imj)roved as 
you ascended in the geological formations. This led 
them to adopt the idea of a regular advance from the 
lower to the higher orders and departments of the 
vegetable and animal kingdoms, beginning at the 
lowest order and extending to the human mind, that 
superior faculty by which man is enabled to arrange 
and survey the multiplied parts of the material 
imiverse. Thus, while Lamarck and his successors 
advocated the transmutation of species, and their 
gradual development and improvement, the geologist 
insisted that the records of past generations as written 
on stone by the extinct species themselves, proved 
the theory to be true. 



XX INTEODUCTION. 

This was the position of things at the beginning of 
the present century, when a new and important 
element was added by another department of human 
knowledge. Geology and physiology had united 
their testimony, while up to that period Astronomy 
had served rather as a check upon its sister sciences ; 
but it was now destined to take a different position. 
Simon Marius, Huygens, and Messier, had previously 
discovered dim and mysterious bodies, faintly shining 
out amid the darkness of the far-off regions, but the 
imperfection of their instruments prevented them 
from distinguishing their true character. It was 
suggested that they were composed of stars, but this 
was not generally believed ; many thought they 
were merely self-luminous clouds ; and this opinion 
seemed to gather strength from their inability to 
resolve these luminous masses into distinct stellar 
bodies. 

These mysterious bodies were now brought under 
the increased instrumental power of Sir William 
Hcrschers improved telescopes ; but he was not 
much more successful in detecting their true char- 
acter, tlian his predecessors had been. It is tnie, he 
succeeded in arranging them in classes; some of 
which he called resolvable nebula^, or nebulop whicl) 
irave si^ns that tlu-v nn<rht be resolved into stare bv 



INTRODUCTION. XXI 

increased instrumental power, and true nebulae, or^ 
sucli as he believed to be irresolvable. He thought 
he had been able to aj)pl7 a certain and reliable test 
to them, and that such undoubtedly was their charac- 
ter. Thus, while the labors of Sir William resulted 
in the discovery of the true nature of the resolvable 
class, they contributed to confirm the belief in a 
real nebulosity, and led finally to the theory of 
Laplace. 

"While Sir William was engaged in observing 
these nebulous appearances, he discovered certain 
bodies which appeared to represent planets and stars 
in the different periods of their growth ; some half- 
formed, and others but one degree removed from the 
nebulse, which was considered the rudimental mate- 
rial. Thus he Avas forced to the conclusion that 
these bodies were in the process of formation, under 
the direction of some natural force, and that these 
phenomena represented the members of one family ; 
as infants, half-grown children, and adults. This 
led astronomers to adopt the Huttonian principle ; 
for, if all the stages of growth exist, then the agencies 
by which they are produced must be at work now 
the same as they were in the beginning. And as 
these phenomena appeared to be developing them- 
selves gradually without the aid of any supernatural 



XXll INTEODUCTION. 

cause, they must depend upon and result from laws 
within the system itself. By this course of reason- 
ing, the only element wanting in the development 
theory was supplied by astronomers. The materials 
were now ready for a complete system of the world, 
and ingenious infidelity was not long in its arrange- 
ment. 

It was supposed that all the heavenly bodies were 
elaborated out of this nebulous material by the 
forces of attraction and radiation. That in the 
beginning this attenuated fire-cloud filled all space ; 
and that by some cause unknown, and at some period 
equally uncertain, a nucleus was formed, to which 
this nebulous matter was drawn by the force of 
attraction, and around which it commenced its revo- 
lutions. Thus the sun, the great central body of our 
system, began its career of usefulness. After a cer- 
tain length of time, the first planet was thrown off 
from the great primary ; and then again another ; 
and these in turn threw off their satellites. And 
thus the process was continued until this globe was 
swung into its orbit. A rough cast, perhaps, but 
nevertheless subject to certain laws which were 
designed to fit it for the various forms and grades of 
life to which accident might introduce it. These 
changes were all effected according to this theory, 
without the aid of any other agency than those of 



rNTEODrCilON. XXIU 

attraction and radiation. There was no snperior 
Cause of Causes — no Power behind the clouds, 
moving the machinery, and ordering the results. 

This globe ha^^ng taken its place under such cir- 
cumstances, is at first covered with water, and is, 
therefore, unfit for anything but marine vegetable 
life, and the lowest order of mollusks. These were 
forced into existence by some electric or chemical 
ggency, as yet imperfectly understood, but when 
once in existence, they became the Adams of the 
earth, and the parents of a numerous and infinitely 
varied progeny. Thus the E'ebular hypothesis was 
interwoven with the Development theory, and a 
complete system of the world constructed out of 
the two. 

It will not be forgotten that these theories were 
perfected in times well adapted to the infidelity 

vliich they taught, when the ministerial corps, for 

some reason either within itself, or without its sacred 
precincts, had become unpopular — when Paine and 
kindred -vvi'iters were encouraged by the people, and 
supported by crowned heads ; and when, if an author 
desired to distinguish himself and enrich his family, 
he had only to minister to the infidel age in which 
he lived. The seed, however, had been ^own, and 
in many instances by minds having little or no sym- 
pathy with those who cultivated it for such mis- 



XXIV INTRODUCTION. 

chievous purposes, and it became the duty of the 
philosopher and the Christian, to correct the errors 
and refute the arguments of an unbelieving age ; and 
to erect a more perfect and hoi j temple out of the 
sacred truths of science. 

The astronomical part of this task could not be 
performed without an increase of instrumental power. 
Sir William Herschel had exhausted the greatest 
power of his best telescopes in arriving at the conclu- 
sions heretofore referred to ; and nothing more was 
expected from that source until the ingenious 
artisan succeeded in arming the philosopher with a 
longer vision. To this important end the efforts of a 
better age were directed. In the geological and 
physiological divisions, time and labor only were 
wanting. The great book of natm-e had been but 
partially opened. Its mightiest volumes and pro- 
foundest secrets were still locked up in the rock for- 
mations of the earth. These were to be broken open, 
and their widely-scattered leaves collected and 
arranged. 

The records of the Sihman system had to be 
gathered up by Sir Eoderick Murchison, and filed 
awa}' in the mighty archives of science, while the 
leaves of Stromness, and the plates of the Old Red 
Sandstone, were to be deposited by the indefatigable 
Hugh Miller. The reptilian fossil history of the 



mTKODUCTION. XXV 

Carboniferous era had to be written out bj Yon 
Mever, Yon Decben, Dr. King, Isaac Lea, and Prof. 
Eogers ; and that of the Footprints of tbe Xew Red 
Sandstone, by the industrious Hitchcock ; and finally, 
the discoveries of all these distinguished geologists 
had to be arranged and philosophically treated by 
the accomplished Lyell, before the geological part 
of this important work was finished. 

It is our present object to trace the progress of 
these discoveries in the different sciences, and to 
ascertain, if possible, how far they deny the theories 
referred to, and to what extent they go, in proving 
the existence and ever-active presence and goodness 
of a Great Intelligent First Cause. In doing this 
we have been led to notice the agreement and adap- 
tation of the infinitely varied parts of the universe, 
and how each part is inseparably interwoven with 
every other ; and how all work together as some 
mighty piece of mechanism, in which nothing is 
wanting, neither can anything be taken away. 

If there were no beautiful adaptations — no pre- 
arrangement of parts to secure general and particular 
ends, there would be much more difficulty in refuting 
the arguments of scientific infidelity. Eut fortu- 
nately for truth and faith, all nature is full of these 
arrangements. When the friends of these theories 
are directed to the harmony which everywhere 



XXVI EN'TEODUCTIOX. 

exists in the iiuiverse ; tliey reply, that as there is a 
natural connection between all things, there is, 
therefore, a necessary harmony. This was one of the 
pioneer suppositions in the theory of Laplace. He 
thought the harmony and just counterbalance of the 
planetary motions and the general arrangement of 
the whole system, could be best accounted for by 
supposing that they had been originally thrown off 
from a great primary, thi'ough the agency of some 
natm-al force. 

It was not so easy to dispose of the adaptations of 
the various parts of the creation to each other. It 
was impossible to deny the necessity of these adap- 
tations, and yet they were not able to j)oint out any 
physical cause for them. In this way they were 
compelled to adopt the idea of original design in the 
universe, and this led them involuntaiily towards a 
belief in the Supeeme Ixtelligext Cause. 

By such arguments, the immortal philosopher of 
Athens was enabled to persuade Aristodemus te 
believe that man was the masterpiece of some great 
Artificer, as he carried along with him infinite 
marks of the love and power of a Creator, whose eye 
pierceth throughout all nature, and whose ear is open 
to every sound, extending to all places and all times ; 
and whose bounty and care can know no other bounds 
than those fixed by his own creation. In this way 



INTKODirCTION. XXVll 

tiio votaries of science were met on their chosen 
ground ; and while nature, to which they appealed, 
supplied facts from its inexhaustible storehouse of 
l^henomena, more than sufficient to answer the argu- 
ments of the unbeliever, the sacred record rose 
above the dust of the material conflict. 

'Not indeed above the contradictions or attacks of 
the infidel philosopher, but superior to them. A 
contest so unequal could not be maintained for any 
considerable time, even with the united strength of 
false science and false men. But the final triumph 
was delayed by the timidity and compromising 
spirit of those whose high privilege it was to defend 
the Mosaic record. They yielded more or less to the 
ingenuity and boldness of an attack which was con- 
ducted with zeal, and apparently sustained by incon- 
trovertible evidence. Had no concessions been 
made, the question would have ceased to be one of 
faith, and become one of fact, much sooner. 

Every concession made by truth to error and false- 
hood, contributes to protract the existence and 
struggle of the latter. The Christian world had 
abundant evidence of the Divine origin of the sacred 
record, and of the truth of every material statement, to 
take its position upon those statements as proved, and 
to challenge the arguments of their enemies ; and to 
go out of it for confirmation was wholly unnecessary. 



XXVlll INTEODTJCTION. 

The error, therefore, consisted in seeking cumnlative 
evidence from donbtful sources, and in casting the 
whole issne on the strength of such evidence. 

It was fortunate for the final result of this great 
question, that eternal truths were not made to depend 
upon the policy of human advocates. Their triumph 
is certain, however much delayed by error and weak- 
ness. So intricate and mysterious is the mighty 
mechanism of the universe, and of the human mind, 
that important principles are as frequently stumbled 
upon, as they are searched out ; and yet the Creator 
has arranged the natural agencies so that the full and 
perfect revelation of every material and important 
fact is secured. JSTor can it be material to Hlm who 
seeth and knoweth all things, whether that revelation 
is made amidst the thunders of Sinai, and written on 
stone, or whether it is made in the Secret Chambers 
of nature : in the delicate shades of some unnoticed 
flower, or the feeble instinct of some despised insect. 
With Him all things are the same ; every organism 
has a voice, and every voice is speaking of the 
Creator. As the human body is to the soul of man, 
so is the universe to the iNFiNriE and Eternal ; and 
every ]3art is but a difierent manifestation of the 
Spirit that sustains the whole. Out of His great 
Being all existence sprang, and each mj^sterious ele- 
ment is an organ for the expression of His will. 



INTRODUCTION. XXIX 

Science has accomplished much in distinguishing 
the various forces, and in detecting their connection 
with, and their influences on, each other ; and in 
doing so it has benefited the human family, by 
enabling man to apply the natural agencies and 
forces to his own purposes. It has also ennobled him 
by giving him a clearer conception of the Power and 
Goodness of the Ckeatoe. And thus Science, like 
all else, has finally contributed to strengthen the 
Christian's faith, and confirm his hope. As the 
innumerable inland streams roll steadily on to the 
deep ocean which awaits them, so all things move on 
to their Infinite Soijrce and end. 



PART I. 



NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS 



As early as the year 1612, the I^ebula in Andro- 
meda was described by Simon Marius ; but, from 
the works of Ismael Bouillaud, a writer of the 
seventeenth century, it appears that this nebula 
was discovered much earlier than that period. It is 
probable, says a distinguished astronomer, that it 
was recognized at least six hundred years before the 
invention of the telescope. It excited much attention 
at the time, and has since become one of the most 
interesting nebulous bodies. Another remarkable 
IS'ebula, the one in the Sword of Orion, was dis- 
covered and described by Iluygens, in 1657. This 
new discovery contributed to increase the interest 
and curiosity which its elder sister had excited. 
It was reserved, however, for Messier, an astronomer 
of the eighteenth century, to extend the catalogue 



32 AKDEOMEDA AND OEION. 

of these mysterious bodies, and to lay the founda- 
tion for speculations of a most exciting character ; 
which, while they threatened to unsettle, established 
theories and cherished beliefs, have greatly increased 
our obli orations to the science itself, and have led 
to those glorious achievements of the mind, which 
have immortalized individuals, and now contribute 
to dignify and ennoble mankind. 

While this distinguished astronomer was engaged 
in observing comets, to which he devoted much of 
his time, he discovered one hundred and three ob- 
jects, or ]N"ebulous Islands, of a light, hazy appear- 
ance, irregularly scattered through space. Under 
moderate telescopic power, these objects appeared as 
self-luminous islands of vapor ; but, when examined 
with refractors of larger aperture and greater focal 
length, it was ascertained that many of them con- 
sisted entirely of stars, so closely crowded together, 
that their light blended in a single blaze at the 
centre. A few of these bodies, however, were not so 
easily disposed of; among which, the nebulae in 
Andromeda and Orion are the principal ones : they 
defied the space-penetrating power of the finest 
instruments, and remained, until recently, wholly 
irresolvable. 

The great variety of forms, and the difference in 
the appearance of these bodies, excited the curiosity, 



NEBULAE HYPOTHESIS. S3 

and engaged the time and attention of successive 
astronomers for nearly two centuries ; but thej were 
made the objects of more particular observation by 
Sir Willian Herschel, to whom the world is so 
largely indebted. After much laborious observation, 
he was enabled, in 1802, to present to the Royal 
Society a catalogue of two thousand newly-dis- 
covered nebulae, which he had arranged in appro- 
priate classes. These bodies were as irregular in 
their figures as they were in their distribution. 
" They are of all degrees of eccentricity," says Sir 
John Herschel, " from moderately oval forms to 
ellipses so elongated as to be almost linear." They 
varied in their appearance from that which seemed 
to be the irregular aggregation of self-luminous 
vapor, or ' star-dust,' to the oval island, in which the 
outlines of stellar bodies were clearly distinguish- 
able. 

In Sir "William's catalogue, these bodies were 
divided into globular and irregular clusters ; resolv- 
able nebulse, or such as he believed would yield to 
increased optical power ; nebulae proper, in which 
there was no appearance of stars ; planetary nebulge, 
and nebulous stars. In some instances, the nebulae 
presented the appearance of a faint luminous atmos- 
phere, of a circular form, and of large extent, sur- 
rounding a star of considerable brilliancy. These 



34 HEKSCHEL'S SPECULATIONS. 

were considered, in the speculations which followed 
the discoveries, and to which we will soon invite the 
reader's attention, the oldest, or advanced stages of 
the nebulous matter, and were called stars with burs ; 
because their light appeared to increase from the 
borders to the centre. It w^as soon ascertained that 
the globular or oval forms yielded readily to in- 
creased optical power ; and that their appearance 
w^as the effect of their great distance from us. The 
irregular or elliptical clusters w^ere less condensed at 
the centre ; and although some of them, as the one 
in the girdle of Andromeda, could be seen with the 
unaided eye, they steadily maintained their nebulous 
appearance. It w^as thought, however, that they 
changed their appearance from time to time ; but 
this was owing to the imperfect sketches taken of 
them, and the difference in the space-23enetrating 
power of the telescopes used at the various periods. 

It was these remarkable and distant bodies, ap- 
pearing more or less distinct according to their 
varying distances, which led Sir William Herschel 
to speculate on the gradual subsidence and con- 
densation of the gaseous or elementary sidereal mat- 
ter, which, it was thought, was dispersed through the 
regions of space. " Assuming that in the progress of 
this subsidence, local centres of condensation, subor- 
dinate to the gradual tendency, would not be want- 



NEBULAE HYPOTHESIS. 35 

ing, lie conceived that in this way solid nuclei might 
arise, whose local gravitation still farther condens- 
ing, and so absorbing the nebulous matter, each in 
its immediate neighborhood might ultimately be- 
come stars, and the whole nebula finally take on the 
state of a cluster of stars. Among the multitude of 
nebulse revealed by his telescopes, every stage of this 
process might be considered as displayed to our 
eyes, and in every modification of form to which the 
general principle might be conceived to apply. The 
more or less advanced stages of a nebula toward its 
•aggregation into discrete stars, and these stars them- 
selves towards a denser nucleus, would thus be in 
some sort indications of age." 

The lowest orders or rudimental nebulge were vari- 
able, both in their figures and degrees of brightness. 
These, it was thought, represented the first stage of 
aggregation. The more advanced were distinguished 
from stars by the faint light only by which they 
were surrounded. These phenomena produced a pro- 
found sensation on the mind of the elder Herschel. 
He, however, felt fully persuaded that these bodies, 
or a large j)roportion of them, were simply congeries 
of stars, so far removed from us as to blend their 
light, and thus present their nebulous appearance. 
But they aroused his active and vigilant mind, and 
prompted him to continue his observations, that he 



36 STAES IX CIRCULAK HALOS. 

might become more iutimatelv acquainted with these 
mysterious strangers. He labored to apply some 
more certain and reliable test to them, and was 
gratified, as he supposed, in this desire. While 
sweeping the heavens with his telescope, he dis- 
covered stars shining, or appearing to shine, through 
floating clouds of this highly attenuated matter. 
These he believed were ' stars enveloped in circular 
halos,' and afforded him an opportunity to contrast 
the true star with the nebulous matter surroundino; 
it. It is difficult to imagine the anxiety and interest 
which agitated the mind of that great man, at this 
j^eriod of his glorious career. An opportunity to 
prove or disprove the suspicions which had per- 
plexed his mind so long, now presented itself ; and, 
believing the result of his observations to be of the 
greatest importance, he must have undertaken the 
task with feelings of the most trying character. We 
will give the history of that observation in his own 
language : " In the first place," he says, " if the 
nebulosity consist of stars that are very remote, 
which appear nebulous on account of the small 
ano^les their mutual distance subtends to the eye, 
whereby they will not only, as it were, run into one 
another, but also appear extremely faint and diluted ; 
then, what must be the enormous size of the central 
point, which outshines all the rest in so superlative 



NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS. 37 

a degree as to admit of no comparison ! In the next 
place, if the star be no bigger than common, how 
very small and compressed must be those other lu- 
minous points, that are the occasion of the nebulosity 
which surrounds the central one ! As by the former 
supposition the luminous central point must far ex- 
ceed the standard of w^hat we call a star, so, in the 
latter, that shining matter about the centre w^ill be 
much too small to come under this denomination : we 
tlierefore either have a central body which is not a 
star, or have a star which is involved in a shining 
fluid of a nature totally unknown to us. I can adopt 
no other sentiment than the latter, since the proba- 
bility is certainly not for the existence of so enormous 
a body as would be required to shine like a star of 
the eighth magnitude, at a distance sufficiently great 
to cause a vast system of stars to put on the appear- 
ance of a very diluted milky nebulosity." Thus we find 
Sir William, one of the world's greatest astronomers, 
laying the foundation for conjectures and theories 
which have interested, and will continue to interest 
mankind, so long as there is any doubt about these 
bodies, or so long as there is any outward twilight 
into which the inquiring mind can penetrate. He 
had wandered into the dim distance, until lost amid 
the shadows and darkness of unexplored regions, and 
was forced to adopt the course which a]3peared to be 



3S ZODIACAL LIGHT. 

supported by the strongest probabilities. One of the 
positions increased his bewilderment ; while the 
other pointed ont the w^ay of return, but left him 
standing astounded by his own discoveries, and the 
remarkable deductions to which they would inevit- 
ably lead. 

There were other phenomena, however, which 
greatly contributed to establish the idea of a phos- 
phorescent vapor, or elementary form of luminous 
sidereal matter ; the most important of which is 
known as the zodiacal light, w^hich is seen after sun- 
set during the spring months, and before sunrise 
during the fall. It is a cone of lenticularly-shaped 
light, extending from the horizon obliquely upward, 
following generally the course of the ecliptic, or 
rather that of the sun's equator. It has been con- 
tended that this was a residuum of the nebulous 
matter, or star-dust, collected around the sun. An 
acceleration discovered in the motion of the moon, 
which, it was supposed, resulted from the resistance 
of an etliereal medium in which the heavenly bodies 
revolved, also united wdth the various concurring 
phenomena to establish the belief in the existence of 
tliis highly attenuated vapor ; out of wliich nature 
elaborated her suns and planetary systems by the 
powers of attraction and gravitation. This belief was 
also favored by the crepuscular theory of light. It 



NEBULAE HYPOTHESIS. 39 

was supposed that the waste of the celestial bodies, 
by the perpetual diffusion of their light, was compen- 
sated by this collecting and condensing process, and 
the balance of the system restored by the formation 
of new planets and stars. Indeed, the general har- 
mony that prevailed throughout the mechanism of 
the whole system, seemed to strengthen the various 
evidences, and establish the theory. This harmony, 
so delightful to the astronomer, could be most satis- 
factorily accounted for by supposing the planets to 
have been thrown off from the sun by centrifugal 
force, as the mighty primary swept around with incal- 
culable speed. It was contended that the dimensions 
of the nebulous matter, which extended beyond the 
orbit of the most distant planet, were contracted by 
loss of heat through radiation ; and that rotary 
motion was produced by the force of the outward 
particles rushing to the centre, and that this rotary 
motion caused centrifugal force, which threw off the 
outward particles, whenever it gained the ascendency 
over the power of attraction. 

These speculations of the elder Herschel, concern- 
ing the possible aggregation of the self-luminous par- 
ticles, and their condensation into planets, were 
followed by the " ]N"ebular Hypothesis" of Laplace, 
a philosopher, whose varied and profound attain- 
ments enabled him to systematize the speculations 



40 THEORY OF LAPLACE. 

of others, and to erect a glorious temple in honor of 
man, out of the abundant and rich materials which 
the learned and great of all preceding ages had scat- 
tered around his feet. It was suggested, in his 
hypothesis, that the stars and planets were originally 
the same as the supposed nebulous bodies, and that 
they had passed regularly through the various stages 
of advancement or growth, necessary to prepare them 
for the habitation of animate matter ; and that when 
in the course of this natural process, they were fitted 
for the great ofiices of life, they were left under the 
influence of certain arbitrary physical laws, to per- 
form their part in the innumerable and brilliant 
sisterhood. 

The first motion of this infant world of attenuated 
vapor, thrown off by laws originally stamped on mat- 
ter itself, strikes the student with astonishment, 
barely sufficient to prepare him for the future revela- 
tions of which these early evidences of life are but 
feeble intimations. The changes and motions of the 
new-born planet will be observed through innumerable 
centuries of time, divided only by the immeasurable 
periods required for the birth of other and younger 
planets and planetary systems. The first and eldest 
of the sisterhood, sweeping around the outward hori- 
zon, will be lost in darkness to all unaided vision, long 



NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS. 41 

before the junior members are prepared to cheer it 
with the warmth and gladness of the parent light. 

The existence of the nebulous matter appeared to be 
satisfactorily proved by these phenomena. Nothing 
now remained to perplex the minds of astronomers, 
but the questions which grew out of the original obser- 
vations of the nebulous matter ; indeed, it was these 
subsequent questions which gave the first so much 
importance. How far did the great primary nebula ex- 
tend ? From whence did it come, and what is its 
destiny ? The nebular hypothesis begins with the sup- 
position that it originally extended beyond the orbit 
of the most distant planet, and that by loss of heat, 
through radiation, it contracted its dimensions, and 
that the inward rushing of the outward particles 
caused its rotary motion. This rotary motion gave 
birth to centrifugal force, which continued to increase 
with the condensation of the body, until it threAV off 
the external particles into a separate zone or ring, as 
the rings of Saturn. These were broken up by some 
imaginary influence, and the particles again drawn 
together by the attractive power of a central point, 
which became the nucleus of the new-born planet. 
This in its turn is put into motion by the same 
forces, and throws off other rings, which by a similar 
process are transformed into revolving satelites. Thus. 



42 PLANETAJiY DISTANCES AND DENSITIES. 

step by step we are led to look upon the world of 
matter as one vast field of changing elements. Har- 
monious, however, in all its various changes. The 
laws which at first appeared to act against the system, 
rending the particles asunder, and scattering them to 
the winds of heaven, are the chief workmen in re- 
constructing the fragments, and in extending the 
mighty family of planetary and stellar systems. 

As additional proof of the truth of this remarkable 
hypothesis, we are directed to the appearance of the 
planets and satellites ; their distances, densities, and 
motions, which, it is contended, confirms the theory of 
their creation. The first planet thrown ofi" must neces- 
sarily be tlie largest and least compact, as well as the 
most remote member of the system. As the mass con- 
tinues to contract and solidify, the second planet must 
be smaller, and its constituent particles closer than the 
senior member; and so through the whole system, in 
proportion to the distance the various members are lo- 
cated from the great central primary ; and as they are 
all thrown off by the same forces, they must move 
necessarily in the same direction. Truly, these were 
suppositions worthy of the consideration of the greatest 
minds, and so they were received. They aroused the 
philosophic world, and gave point and energy to its 
observations. Before this period, astronomers appear 
to have been stimulated in their labors chieflv bv the 



NEBULAE HYPOTHESIS. 43 

love of the wonderful, and the disposition, so pre- 
dominant in some minds, to wander into unknown 
regions. But now astronomy appeared more in- 
teresting and infinitely more important. It was now 
believed to be the key by which the mighty archives 
of the universe were to be unlocked, and the hidden 
mysteries and forces of J^ature's creative agencies 
(not to speak irreverently) revealed to the gaze of 
mortals. The feeble representative of the great de- 
signing INTELLIGENCE was to be introduced, uncovered, 
and trembling though it might be, to the sublime and 
awful forces which work out the designs of the in- 
finite and the eteenal. 'No wonder that astronomy 
assumed an increased importance, and that the 
initiated waited for farther revelations with deepen- 
ing anxiety. 

For years the far-reaching vision of astronomers 
had been turned upon these appearances, and for an 
equal length of time the learned corps had been 
defeated and mortified by the uncertainty in which 
they were compelled to remain ; while theories, as 
wild as the nebulgs are distant and indistinct have 
resulted from their irresolvability, which have alter- 
nately disturbed the foundations of the Christian 
religion and the science of astronomy itself — that 
glorious star-crowned superstructure, whose arches 
span the widest range of atellar matter. These irre- 



44 OPINION OF SIR JOHN ITEESCHEL. 

solvable islands were found in the verj borders of 
that vast field which the astonishing imiDrovements 
of man have enabled him to bring within the com- 
pass of his vision, and therefore were the more diffi- 
cult to examine. But, as successive improvements 
were constantly enlarging the field of view, and ren- 
dering more distinct the remote territory already 
partially surveyed, it was hoped that these phenomena 
would soon be understood. That ^^ei'iod has now 
arrived. Out of the dark cloud that settled on the 
bosom of philosophy, light and. truth have been dis- 
tilled, and science comes out more closely allied 
to the religion which sustained her faithful priest- 
hood. 

It was believed by Sir William Herschel, that 
many of the nebulous bodies would eventually be 
resolved into clusters of stars, and hence he divided 
them, as we have seen, into diflPerent classes ; but he 
as firmly believed that the nebulse proper would 
never be resolved into stars. A similar opinion, 
stated, however, with less confidence in the existence 
of nebulous matter, was advanced by his distin- 
guished son, Sir John Herschel, at a recent period. 
In speaking of these bodies, at one of the meetings 
of the British Association, in 1845, he said : " By 
far the major part, probably at least nine-tenths of 
the nebulous contents of the heavens, consist of 



NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS. 45 

nebulae of spherical or elliptical forms, presenting 
every variety of elongation and central condensation. 
Of these a great number have been resolved into dis- 
tinct stars, and a vast multitude more have been 
found to present that mottled appearance which ren- 
ders it almost a matter of certainty that an increase 
of optical power would show them to be similarly 
composed. A not unnatural or unfair induction 
would therefore seem to be, that those which resist 
such resolution, do so only in consequence of the 
smallness and closeness of the stars of which they 
consist ; that, in short, they are only oj^tically, and 
not physically, nebulous. There is, however, one 
circumstance which deserves especial remark, and 
which, now that my own observation has extended 
to the nebulae of both hemispheres, I feel able to 
announce with confidence as a general law, viz : that 
the character of easy resolvability into separate and 
distinct stars is almost entirely confined to nebulae 
deviating but little from the spherical form ; while, 
on the other hand, very elliptic nebulae, even large 
and bright ones, offer much greater difficulty in this 
respect. The cause of this difference must, of course, 
be conjectural ; but I believe it is not possible for 
any one to review seriatim the nebulous contents of 
the heavens, without being satisfied of its reality as a 
physical character. Possiblv the limits of the con- 



46 

ditions of dynamical stability iu a S2)lierical cluster 
may be compatible with nmnerous and compara- 
tively larger individual constituents than in an ellip- 
tical one. Be this as it may ; though there is no 
doubt a great number of elliptic nebulae in which 
stars have 7iot yet been noticed, yet there are so 
many in which they have^ and the gradation is so 
insensible from the most perfectly spherical to the 
most elongated elliptic form, that the force of the 
general induction is hardly weakened by this pecu- 
liarity ; and for my own part I should have little 
hesitation in admitting all nebulge of this class to be, 
in fact, congeries of stars. And this seems to have 
been my father's opinion of their constitution, with 
the exception of certain A^ery peculiar-looking ob- 
jects, respecting whose nature all opinion must for 
the present be suspended. The Avildest imagination 
can conceive nothing more capricious than their 
forms, which in many instances seem totally devoid 
of plan, as much so as our real clouds ; others offer 
traces of a regularity hardly less uncouth and charac 
teristic, and which in some cases seem to indicate a 
cellular, in others a sheeted structure, complicated in 
folds, as if agitated by internal winds." " Should 
the powers of an instrument snch as Lord Eosse's 
succeed in resolving these also into stars, and, more- 
over, in demonstrating the starry nature of the I'egu 



NEBULAE HYPOTHESIS. 47 

lar elliptic nebnlse which have hitherto resisted 
such decomposition, the idea of a nebulous onatter^ 
in the nature of a shining fluid, or condensible gas, 
must, of course, cease to rest on any support derived 
from actual observation in the sidereal heavens, 
whatever countenance it may still receive in the 
minds of cosmogonists, from the tails and atmos- 
pheres of comets, and the zodiacal light in our own 
system. But, though all idea of its being ever given 
to mortal eye to view aught that can be regarded as 
an outstanding portion of primeval chaos be dissi- 
pated, it will by no means have been then demon- 
strated, that among these stars, so confusedly scat- 
tered, no aggregating powers are in action, tending 
to draw them into groups, and insulate them from 
neighboring groups ; and, sp>eaking from my own 
impressions, I should say that, in the structm-e of the 
Magellanic clouds, it is really difficult not to believe 
we see distinct evidences of the exercise of such a 
power." This language was held by a learned as 
tronomer, on the very morning of the greatest dia 
coveries ever made by man. 



48 IXCREASED POWER. 

n. 

THE RESULTS OF INCREASED POWER. 

According to the predictions of these distinguished 
philosophers, it was found that each increase of in- 
strumental power made large additions to the cata- 
logue of resolvable nebulae. I^ebulse which appeared 
as dim, milky spots, scarcely perceivable to Sir 
AVilliam Herschel, burst into splendid galaxies under 
our present second-rate instruments. In fact, nearly 
all of the nebulse which resisted the power of his 
telescope yielded successively to the instruments 
which followed in the train of improvement. A dim 
spot, shining out from the far-oif distance, as an 
irregular aggregation of "star-dust," was resolved by 
Lord Eosse's three-feet telescope, into his Lordship's 
splendid Crab N'ebula, which is now known to be a 
mighty system of brilliant orbs, more splendid perhaps 
than the one of which our planet constitutes a com- 
paratively insignificant, yet necessary part. The cir- 
cular nebula of Lyra, less distinct even than the Crab 
ISTebula, was not fully resolved by that instrument ; 
but sufficiently so to convince astronomers that its 
resolution was near, and that it, also, was a mighty 
ffalaxv. The most indistinct — those found on the 



NEBrLAK HYPOTHESIS. 49 

very verge of the horizon of the longing eye of 
science, the Dumb Bell and Dog's Ear, for example 
— were more difficult to resolve. The first of these, 
however, appeared through that instrument as a 
wonderful system, clustering around two nuclei or 
knots of stars. The last required the extraordinary 
power of Lord Rosse's six-feet mirror to resolve it. 
This nebula presented the most astonishing figure ; 
and it is not less an object of profound interest, 
although it is now believed to be a cluster of distinct 
stars, than when it lay dimly shining mid the dark- 
ness of the unexplored regions of space. He who 
can view these phenomena without feeling his own 
insignificance in the vast universe around him, and 
bowing with reverential awe before the Almighty 
Power on whose w^ill all these mighty systems hang 
trembling in their orbits, must have a singular com- 
position of faculties, darkened by passion or deadened 
by improper education, exciting the sympathy not 
only of angels, but of their Creator himself. 

Thus far, these bodies, by yielding to the progres- 
sive steps of science, have thrown light upon the 
darkness by which they were surrounded, and gradu- 
ally prepared us for the revelations w^liich were 
reserved for the immense space-penetrating telescope 
of Lord Rosse, and the less renowned but equally 
astonishing mirror at Cambridge. These telescopes, 



50 CAMBKIDGE TELESCOPE. 

themselves the grandest achievement of art, have 
opened up new and deeply -interesting territories for 
the contemplation of man. Dim and distant nebulae, 
so remote that it required sixty thousand years for 
their light to reach us, burst upon the long-reaching 
vision of these mighty instruments with a grandeur 
before unknown. The nebula in Andromeda, dis- 
covered in the tenth century, and the only one out of 
four thousand which was discovered before the inven- 
tion of the telescope, has been resolved by the great 
refractor at Cambridge, but by no other instrument. 
Sir John Herschel described it in 1826, as a nebula 
of a milky g^ppearance and perfectly irresolvable, not 
having the slightest tendency to that separation into 
flocculi, seen in the nebula in Orion, and having no 
appearance of a star in the centre. In August, 1847, 
the Cambridge refractor was directed upon it, when 
the centre appeared condensed almost into a star- 
like nucleus, and a vast number of stars, of every 
gradation of brilliancy, rose upon its surface, not, 
indeed, fully and distinctly defined, but showing 
clearly that they were not component j^arts of it. On 
the fourteenth day of September following, a favor- 
able opportunity for farther investigation offered 
itself, when, by directing the attention to the pre- 
ceding portion of the nebula, says Mr. Bond, as 
it passed the centre of the field of view, it was evi- 



NEBULAK HYPOTHESIS. 51 

dent that what had hitherto been regarded as its 
boundary in that direction, was rather a sudden inter- 
ruption of light, appearing like a narrow, dark band, 
in which the eye could detect no deviation from per- 
fect straightness, stretching in the direction of the 
axis of the nebula, entirely across the field of vision. 
Exterior to this, with respect to the axis, w^as another 
band or canal, closely resembling the former, but some- 
what less distinct, of equal regularity, and so nearly 
parallel with it as to make it difiicult to decide, by 
simple inspection, whether they were not perfectly so. 
What particularly commands attention here, is the 
regularity of structure displayed — the uniform influ- 
ence, made manifest to the senses, of the same law, 
over an immensity of space of which the mind can 
form no adequate conception ; since the distance at 
which Sir William Herschel placed this nebula re- 
quires that the length of the interior canal should 
not be estimated at less than twenty times the dis- 
tance of Sirius from our system. The number of 
stars visible with the full aperture of the object-glass 
within the limits of the nebula, prevented Mr. Bond 
from attempting to execute a map of them ; but it 
was thouHit that two hundred at least could be seen 
in a single field of the telescope. This is nearly equal 
to the number found in a single field of view in the 
Milky Way. With high powers minute stars can be 



52 NEBULA IN ORION. 

discerned on tlie borders of the nnclens ; and al 
thongh it cannot be said that this extraordinary bod;y 
lias been fully resolved, yet its character can be the 
subject of speculation no longer. 

But we tiu-n to the last and perhaps the most 
wonderful of these bodies, the nebula in Orion. On 
examining this nebula through telescopes of ordinary- 
power, the middle star seems affected by an indis- 
tinctness not common to small stars ; indeed, it 
appears rather as a diffused hazQ, not a star properly, 
and even when examined with instruments of still 
greater power, this hazy appearance continues un- 
changed. When Sir John Herschel's eighteen-inch 
mirror was directed upon it, strange and fantastic 
branching arras were discovered, with such an extra- 
ordinary appearance as to induce Sir John to believe 
it to be something very different from a stellar con- 
stellation. In the winter of 1845, Dr. l!^ichol exam- 
ined this nebula through Lord Rosse's six-foot mirror, 
after which he says, " owing to the incompleteness 
of the instrument, and the unfavorable weather, it 
was the first time that grand telescope had been 
directed towards that mysterious object, l^ot yet the 
trace of a star ; looming, unintelligible as ever, there 
the nebula lay. But how brilliant its brighter parts ! 
How much more broken the interior of its mass ! 
How innumerable the streamers now attached to it 



NEBULAK HYPOTHESIS. 53 

on every side ! How strange, especially that large 
horn, rising in relief ont of the dark skies, like a huge 
cumulous cloud ! It was still possible, then, that the 
nebula might be irresolvable by the loftiest efforts of 
human art ; but doubt continued to remain." The long- 
cherished hopes of the Professor were all blasted. He 
who had measured the heavens, and furnished us a 
geography of its wide domain, with the size, location, 
and motions of the starry hosts, was compelled to 
turn once more from the contemplation of this won- 
derful phenomenon with feelings of profounder reve- 
rence and awe. l^ot discouraged, however, by the 
failure of the first effort, the distinguished o^Tier of 
the " Parsonstown Leviathan" continued his observa- 
tions at every favorable opportunity, until March, 
1846, when his labors were crowned with success. 
He was enabled, not indeed to resolve this obstinate 
body fully, but sufficiently to satisfy himself and 
others that it was undoubtedly a splendid galaxy of 
stars, which fact he communicated to Professor 
IN'ichol the mornino; followino^ his success. 'No lono^er 
a self-luminous vapor, or planet in its infancy, but a 
bright firmament of stellar orbs, so far removed from 
us in space, that the brilliancy of its constituent stars 
is merged into a uniform, faint light. The difficulty 
was removed, and all the strange appearances 

accounted for as the effect of varving distances. The 
3- 



54 LOED kosse's success. 

stars of heaven are perfect ; no rudimental or half- 
grown ones are fonnd ; the choir is full. The J^ebii- 
lar Hypothesis vanishes as a pleasant dream, profit- 
able though we believe it has been ; and with it 
various systems of cosmogony, the fear of timid 
Christians, and the hopes of Atheistical philosophers. 
When the drawing of that nebula, as seen through 
Lord Kosse's grand telescojie, was shown to Sir John 
Herschel, he said he felt an inexpressible delight 
when contemplating the achievements of that instru- 
ment, that, by opening up new scenes of the grandeur 
of creation, it would tend to elevate and ennoble our 
conceptions of the great and beneficent Architect, 
and that that was the grand object contemplated, 
and the noblest aim of all science. He who 

" spangled o'er infinity with suns, 

And wrapped it round about him as a robe, 
And wrote out His own great Name 
In spheres of fire, that Heaven might alway tell 
To every creature, God !" 

rises above the majestic movement of his own creation, 
bidding man, in gentle but reproving language, to 
gird up his loins and declare, whether he can " bind 
the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the 
bands of Orion!" 

The dark cloud wdiich had so long obscured the 
vision of astronomers, not only preventing further 



NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS. 00 

investigation, but casting heavy shadows upon objects 
ah'eadj surveyed, and doubts and fears u2:)on facts 
which othei'wise w^ould have served as a sure founda- 
tion for hope and faith, had, at least, been broken 
into detached parts, and now only waited the agency 
of the splendid telescope at Cambridge, to be re- 
solved into thinner vapor than the most highly atten- 
uated nebulge, which was ever supposed to have an 
existence. The Cambridge refractor has not the 
space-penetrating power of Lord Rosse's telescope; 
but our atmosphere is more favorable, and hence 
more has been achieved than has yet been accom- 
j)lished by that immense instrument. "When the 
Cambridge refractor was directed uj^on the nebula in 
Orion, the stars of that immeasurable mass burst into 
the most distinct and well-defined light. The learned 
director of that Observatory has executed a splendid 
drawino; of the nebula, locatina: and numberino^ a 
catalogue of several hundred stars, varying in his 
scale from the fourth to the nineteenth degrees of 
magnitude. The nebulous appearances are not en- 
tirely dissipated ; nor can we hope they ever will be. 
From past experience we may expect, that as the 
space-penetrating power of the telescope is increased, 
the present nebulous appearances will be resolved 
into stars, and that other nebulous appearances, still 
more remote, will rise upon our vision, to perjDlex the 



56 OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. 

inquirer, and to invite renewed efforts ; but telling 
man, in silent jet astounding language, that beyond, 
and still beyond, there are other systems, too mighty 
and too remote for his limited vision ; that there are 
no bounds to space or to matter ; and that to the Infi- 
nite Mind, the power to scan the illimitable and com- 
prehend the incomprehensible, has been reserved. 

What infinite distances, what dread potencies, are 
here for our contemplation ! But above these poten- 
cies, mighty though they are, we cannot fail to recog- 
nize a Creative Power, more worthy of our serious 
and reverential contemplation. 'Twas He who spread 
out these illimitable fields of space ; who created 
and now controls the mighty forces pervading them ; 
to whom the deep-toned tlmnders and whispering 
zephyrs are alike obedient. To Him all times, all 
distances, and all things, are the same. The delicate 
flower, breathing its fragrance upon the thoughtless 
w^anderer for a day, and the dim, yet mighty systems, 
sweeping with incalculable speed around the verge 
of the outward horizon ; my infant daughter, yet 
unconscious of the dread ao:encies around her, remind- 
ing us by her simplicity and innocence, of primal 
purity ; and the throng of angels, the loved and lost, 
" whose bright and long-missed faces seem bursting 
through the sky," are all the creatures of His infinite 
love, and the objects of His parental care. 



NEBULAR HYPOTHESIS. 67 

" The smallest dust which floats upon the wind 
Bears the strong impress of the Eternal Mind : 
In mystery round it, subtle forces roll ; 
And gravitation binds and guides the whole. 
In every sand before the tempest hurled, 
Lie locked the powers which regulate a world ; 
And from each atom hr.man thoight ,nay rise 
With might to pierc^ the mysteries of the skies ; 
To try each force which rules the mighty plan, 
Of moving planets, or of breathing ma*' 
And from the secrar wonders of eacn sva., 
Evoke the truths and learn the power of God !" 



PART IL 



AvSTJiOIOMY* 
1. 

Feom the review of the phenomena upon which 
the Kebular Hypothesis was based, themselves 
depending on suppositions and conjectures, we turn 
to facts equally interesting to the candid inquirer, 
and infinitely more important in guiding the mind to 
correct conclusions, and the heart to the great souece 
as well as end of all its best affections. 

A distinguished jurist, when speaking of circum- 
stantial evidence, said that it might be, and not 
unfrequently was, better than direct and positive 
proof. The ear and eye may be deceived ; but an 
unbroken chain of dependent circumstances, standing 
in the relation of cause and effect, or of independent 
facts, all tending to establish the same hypothesis, 
and to exclude every other analogous to the reductio 
ad dbstirdum in geometry, amounts to proof almost 



ASTRONOMY. 59 

above the possibility of error. And altliougb proof 
of this kind is seldom of an absolute or demonstrative 
character, jet it is sufficient to exclude all reasonable 
doubt, and thus generate moral conviction and belief. 
The most important and beautiful of all philosophical 
theories, that of Sir Isaac I^ewton, for exjolaining the 
solar system, as exhibited by that great philosopher, 
amounts simply to this ; a cause, viz., gravitation 
exists. It is matter of demonstrative proof, that if 
such a cause did really oj)erate upon the system, it 
would produce all the effects or phenomena which 
are actually observed ; that is, the supposed cause is 
sufficient to explain all the phenomena, hence it is 
inferred to be true ; and the force of this inference is 
in proportion to the improbability that all the minute 
coincidences between the phenomena and the hy- 
pothesis should be merely fortuitous, and that they 
should have resulted, not from a cause known to 
exist, and which is adequate to produce them, but 
from some other cause imobserved and unknown. 
And in philosophical, as in judicial proofs, the chain 
of coincidences, and the chain of circumstances 
proved to exist, must be perfect and unbroken ; the 
least chasm wdll destroy the whole. If there are any 
incongruous circumstances or facts which cannot be 
removed, or any chasm which cannot be filled, the 
hypothesis must fall, although no other can be sug- 



60 Newton's system. 

gested. So true is this, that the French philosophers 
opposed ."Newton's system of the world, because his 
calculations made the moon's apsides but one half as. 
great as thej were proved to be by actual observation. 
And this, be it remembered, was after every other 
difficulty had been removed. 

The problem of the three bodies challenged the 
greatest minds of the eighteenth century, and threat- 
ened the total overthrow of that system, which is 
both the glory of E"ewton, and the honor of his 
species. Clairaut, D'Alembert, and Euler, were the 
three distinguished competitors for the honor of re- 
moving the difficulty. And it was not until they dis- 
covered that the difference between the calculations 
of the apsides and the actual observation, resulted 
from an error in neglecting a tangential force in the 
calculation, which, when taken into the account, 
reconciled the theoretical with the actual observation, 
that the French fully adopted N"ewton's theory. 

Clairaut found that the motion of the longer axis 
of the moon's orbit came out only half of what obser- 
vation made it. In consequence of this, he came to 
the conclusion that the force with which the earth 
attracts the moon, does not decrease exactly as the 
square of the distances increase ; but that a part of it 
only follows that law, while another part follows the 
inverse of the biquadrate or fourth power of the dis- 



astkono:my. 61 

tances. This was objected to for want of simplicity. 
On farther calculation he was induced to cany his 
approximation farther than he had done, and to 
include quantities before rejected. Having done this, 
he found the numerator of the fraction that denoted 
the part of gravity which followed the new law, equal 
to nothing ; that is, that it had no existence. The 
calculus was then rectified, and the approximation 
carried out, when it was clearly and satisfactorily 
settled that the moon's apsides, as deduced from 
theory, coincided exactly with observation. This was 
an important triumph for science, connecting as 
it did, the mighty chain of facts which established 
Xewton's theory. Gravitation Avas then acknow- 
ledged by the learned of all countries, to be as 
mighty as it was mysterious ; as regular and power- 
ful as it was universal and essential in the glorious 
family of brilliant orbs, whose pathways it marked 
out and whose revolutions it controlled. 

The orbits of the planets are all ellipses, having 
the sun for their common focus. The distance of the 
focus from the centre of the ellipsis is what astrono- 
mers call the eccentricity of the orbit. This eccen- 
tricity is small in all of the planets, and the ellipse 
approaches nearly to a circle. These eccentricities 
are subject to constant changes, but they are so influ- 
enced and regulated by each other, that the change is 



62 PLANETAKT ECCENTEICITIES. 

never \ery great. This fact was clearly and satisfac- 
torily established by Laplace, in his " Traite de 
Mechaniqiie Celeste^ If the mass of each planet be 
multiplied into the square of the eccentricity of its 
orbit, and this product into the square root of the 
axis of the same orbit, the sum of all these quantities, 
when they are added together, wdll remain for ever 
the same. This sum is a constant magnitude, which 
the mutual action of the planets cannot change, and 
which nature preserves free from alteration. Hence 
no one of the eccentricities can ever increase to a 
great magnitude ; for as the mass of each planet is 
given, and also its axis, the square of the eccentricity 
in each is multiplied into a given co-efficient, and the 
sum of all the products so formed is incapable of 
change. 

The orbits of the planets, however, are not all 
alike. They differ in form as well as distance. 
Whether this was designed by the great Architect, 
or resulted accidentally from the different degrees of 
velocity with which the planets were originally 
thrown off from the supposed nebulous primary, can 
be inferred from the evidence only which their diver- 
sified forms and their necessary forces present. Had 
the velocity been such, says a distinguished author- 
ess, as to make the planets move in orbits of unstable 
equilibrium, their mutual attraction might have 



ASTEONOMY. 63 

changed them into parabolas, or even hyperbolas, so 
that the earth and the planets mighty ages ago, have 
been sweeping far from our sun, through the abyss of 
space. Eut as the orbits differ very little from circles, 
the momentum of the planets, when projected, must 
have been exactly sufficient to insure the perma- 
nency and stability of the system. Besides, con- 
tinues the same authority, the mass of the sun is 
vastly greater than that of any planet; and as their 
inequalities bear the same ratio to their elliptical 
motions, that their masses do to that of the sun, their 
mutual disturbances only increase or diminish the 
eccentricities of their orbits by very minute quanti- 
ties ; consequently the magnitude of the sun's mass is 
the principal cause of the stability of the system. 
Thus we see that the orbits of the planets are import- 
ant elements ; and we must also see that they were 
originally designed to perform the office which we 
find them performing in the system. It would be 
useless to inquire, whether the Ceeatok chose to 
establish them through the intensity of their primi- 
tive momentum, or independent of it ; it is enougli 
to know that the forces exerted by them are neces- 
sary in the system, and that these forces result from 
peculiarities which cannot be accounted for, and 
which might have been different. This important 
and necessary arrangement has always been consider- 



64 ORIGINAL DESIGN. 

eel an interesting and conclusive evidence of original 
design ; because it depends on conditions arbitraiy in 
themselves. The quantity whicli secures the stability 
of the system depends on the uniform motion of the 
planets, their circular orbits, and the smallness of 
their eccentricities ; all of which might have been 
different from anything we can discover in the laws 
pervading the universe. 

The inequalities of the planets, for a correct under- 
standing of which the world is indebted to Lagrange, 
are also interesting and important evidence of original 
design or final cause. Lagrange found that the 
inequalities were all periodical ; and that the greater 
axis of the ellipse, or the mean distance of each 
planet from the sun, and its mean motion, were 
always the same. This was one of the greatest dis- 
coveries of science. It w^as then ascertained that 
these inequalities were limited; and that, although 
the planets under the influence of one law did 
wander from their course, they were drawn back 
again by a potency equal to the former ; and that the 
discord and destruction which would necessarily 
result from the supremacy of either power, was pre- 
vented by a just and equal balance of both. 

Li this connection we may refer to the acceleration 
of the moon, discovered by Dr. Halley, while com- 
paring ancient with modern observations. This, it 



ASTEONOMT. 65 

will be recollected, was one of the evidences relied 
on to establish the existence of a nebnlons matter. 
Dr. Ilalley observed that the moon's motion aronnd 
tlie earth appeared to be performed in a shorter time 
than was formerly required ; and that the difference 
appeared to be slowly but regularly increasing. This 
could not be explained by gravitation. It was sup- 
posed by many savans, that gravitation did not act 
instantaneously, and that the time thus taken up 
caused the acceleration ; others thought it was 
caused by a resistance of the medium in which she 
moves. The last opinion was adopted by the friends 
of the nebular hypothesis. It was reserved for 
Laplace to show how this acceleration agreed with 
the inequalities depending on the changes in the 
eccentricities of its orbit, and that it is not constantly 
increasing, but like other inequalities, j)eriodical. It 
was these unexplained accelerations and inequalities, 
favoring the idea of a final destruction of our system, 
that inspired the eloquent lines of the philosophic 
Darwin : — 

" Roll on, ye stars ! exult in youthful prime, 

Mark with bright curves the printless steps of Time. 
Near and more near your beamy cars approach, 
And lessening orbs on lessening orbs encroach. 
Flowers of the sky ! ye too to age must yield, 
Frail as your silken sisters of the field, 



66 PEOFESSOE PLAYFAIK. 

Star after star from heaven's high arch shall nish, 
Suns sink on suns, and systems systems crush; 
Headlong, extinct, to one dark centre fall, 
And earth, and night, and chaos mingle all ; 
Till o'er the wreck, emerging from the storm, 
Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form ; 
Mounts from her funeral pyre on wings of ilame, 
And soars and shines another and the same !" 

" The destiny of nature is, however," to use the 
language of Professor Playfair, " more noble than 
tliat which this magnificent descrij)tion holds up to 
the fancy ; and the algebraist has extracted from his 
calculus a more sublime conclusion than the inven- 
tion of a poet has been able to attain. The constancy 
of nature, amidst all the changes she undergoes, is 
upheld by the constitution of these changes, w^hich 
prescribes to each its limits, and forces it to recur in 
a series, which in time reduces to nothing the sum of 
all the deviations from the mean. Thus, the amount 
of the whole is permanent, though the terms them- 
selves are perpetually changing ; and hence nature 
is rendered immortal, not by emerging from the 
storm, but by being ever superior to its power ; its 
order is not renovated, but preserved ; and the 
wisdom of its Author has provided an antidote to 
evil, that renders all remedies unnecessary." 

But we return to the nebular hypothesis, according 
to which the nebulous matter must have originally 



ASTEON-OMT. 67 

filled all space, and all celestial bodies of every cha- 
racter most liave resulted or sprung from it. They 
should, therefore, all move in the same direction 
around the primary, and should observe some law as 
to the relative time required to complete that mo- 
tion ; secondly, they should rotate in the same direc- 
tion on their axes ; and thirdly, the satellites should 
observe the same laws towards their primaries. Aud 
as the great primary continued to solidify as it con- 
tracted its dimensions through the influence of radia- 
tion, the inner or nearest ^^^anets should be more 
compact than the outer ones ; and so in proportion to 
their distances, or the date of their creation. It is 
also contended that the size of each must agree with 
its distance from the primary: we do not think, 
however, that this is a necessary consequence. 

At the expense even of repetition and prolixity, 
we must, before going any farther, refer to the 
positions first assumed. A nebula, extending through 
all space, is reduced by radiation, which in itself 
produces an inward rushing of the outward particles ; 
and this causes rotary motion, which, in its turn, 
oives birth to centrifuo;al force. l^ow, without 
inquiring into the cause of this radiation, or the pos- 
sibility of it in a body such as this diflfused nebulous 
mass must have been, we will proceed to inquire how 
the revoh'ing motion resulted from the inward rush- 



68 EADIATION OF THE NEBULA. 

ing of the molecules. This is explained by the whirl- 
pools or dimples observed by the " musing poet " in 
fantastic eddies, where the current is forced out of 
its direction by some ojDposing power turning it back 
in a semi-circular course, which brings it in contact 
with the current above, and this carrying it down 
again to the point of resistance, gives it a circular 
motion. We see this illustrated in the bends or 
curves of rivers, where the current rushes against 
the bank, and at the meeting of streams flowing 
together from oblique directions. Eut these pheno- 
mena are not fair illustrations of the motion of the 
nebulous particles. The nebula must have been a 
globe : if so, the radiation acted equally on all the 
agglomerating particles in the same circle, and the 
momentum of each must have been the same. This 
neutralized their force, and destroyed all cause for 
rotary motion. Whirlpools are caused by currents 
running to different points ; but the agglomerating 
particles of the nebula are all drawn to a single 
nucleus. The different currents have unequal force 
and velocity ; but the motion of the molecules is pro- 
duced by the same influences, and their forces are 
necessarily equal. 

But suppose the external particles were thrown 
off in the form of a ring around the primary, 
and afterward broken up ; we still meet w^ith a 



ASTEONOMY. 69 

difficulty of no ordinary character, in getting them 
around a single nucleus. These fragments are scat- 
tered around an orbit too inconceivably vast for 
computation, and ai-ound a globe (the primary) mil- 
lions of times larger than the nucleus which is des- 
tined to attract the widely scattered particles toge- 
ther. It is a well-known law in physics, that there is 
a mutual attraction between all bodies in the propor- 
tion of their mass. How, then, is the attractive 
power of the great central mass overcome by that of 
the mere point ? Is it owing to a centrifugal force 
which continues to throw them off? We can imagine 
the planets taking oblate forms under the reciprocal 
attraction of their component parts and centrifugal 
force, for this process is natural, and does not conflict 
with well established laws ; but how detached parts, 
under the influence of conflicting forces, separated as 
widely as these must have been, were brought under 
the attractive power of a single nucleus, is a question 
not easily settled. 

The four minor planets, occupying the space be- 
tween Mars and Jupiter, seem to be more natural, 
having been formed according to this theory, out of 
the same broken ring ; but they constitute an excep- 
tion to the general law, and are accounted for by 
supposing that a planet had been burst asunder by 
some internal force, after it had been formed out of 

4: 



70 SIZE OF THE PLANETS. 

the particles thrown off from the primary. It ap- 
pears more likely, however, that the broken ring 
would have originally formed aronnd the different 
nuclei, and not around a single one. 

But, did this supposed nebulous body ever occupy 
the whole orbit of the most distant planet ? The 
diameter of the sun is eight hundred and eighty-eight 
thousand miles ; and that of Jupiter, the largest 
planet, only eighty-eight thousand miles. It has been 
ascertained by calculation, that if all the planets and 
satellites in our system were moulded into a single 
globe, that globe would not exceed the five-hun- 
dredth part of the globe of the sun : in other words, 
the bulk of the sun is five hundred times greater than 
the aggregate bulk of all the rest of the bodies of the 
solar system. If the planets and satellites were 
brought to the density of the sun, they would still 
bear no greater proportion to that body. According 
to this calculation, we have a globe whose diameter 
is eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand miles, and 
other bodies, the aggregate bulk of which is but one 
five-hundredth part as large, of the density of water, 
to fill an orbit whose diameter is not much less than 
six thousand millions of miles. 'We repeat, is it ]30S- 
sible that these bodies ever filled the orbit of Uranus ? 
The discovery of Neptune increases the difficulty 



ASTRONOMY. 71 

We know tlie astonishing extent to which water may 
be expanded ; but there are limits to the expansion of 
steam, as well as to everything else. 



II. 



THE DISTANCE AND DENSITY OF THE PLANETS. 

And what are the distances and densities of the 
planets ? for these are important elements in the 
theory. The nearest planet is thirty-six millions of 
miles from the sun, and the second is seventy millions 
of miles, or nearly twice the distance of its younger 
sister ; while the earth, the next in order, is only 
ninety-five millions, — being less than one third in- 
crease on the orbit of Yenus ; and Mars, the fourth, 
is one hundred and fifty millions of miles, or a little 
more than one third increase on the orbit of the earth. 
Uranus is one billion eight hundred millions of 
miles from the sun, or nearly twice the distance of 
Saturn. But Neptune exhibits the greatest viola- 
tion of the supposed law^ of planetary distances. 
The interval between its orbit and that of Mercur}^, 
instead of being nearly double the interval be- 
tween the orbit of Uranus and Mercury, as the 
law requires, does not, in fact, exceed the latter 
interval by much more than one half its amount. 



IXCEEASIXG DISTANCE. 



" This remarkable exception," says Sir Jolin Her- 
schel, " may serve to make us cautious in tlie too 
ready admission of empirical laws of this nature to 
the rank of fundamental truths, though, as in the 
present instance, they may prove useful auxiliaries, 
and serve as stepping-stones, affording a temporary 
footing in the path of great discoveries !" The space 
between Mars and Jupiter is accounted for by sup- 
posing that the planet originally thrown off in that 
place, was broken up by some internal violence ; and 
that the four small planets first discovered, which 
revolve between these two planets, at nearl}^ the 
same mean distance from the sun, were formed out 
of the fragments of the broken planet. This may be 
true, but how are the other small planets, recently 
discovered within our system, accounted for? The 
only vacancy in the order of the planets, lies between 
Mars and Jupiter: to fill that there are eleven small 
planets, which, if moulded into one, would make it 
too large for the law of proportion. Thus, while 
astronomers restore the apparent order of distances by 
reconstructing a large planet out of the small ones 
found in the chasm, they violate the law of increasing 
size. Every discovery removes some strons; column 
from the vapory edifice, and adds new difiiculties for 
the ingenious and the learned to surmount. 

The same difficulty presents itself in the bulk or 



ASTRONOMV. Y3 

size of the planets. Mercury, the nearest to the sun, 
is about three thousand two hundred miles in diame- 
ter, and I^eptune, the most distant planet jet dis- 
covered, is not far from twenty thousand miles in 
diameter. There is not, however, a progressive 
increase of bulk from Mercury to ]N"eptune. Jupiter, 
the fifth large planet, is much the largest, having a 
diameter of eighty-eight thousand miles. Saturn is 
larger than Uranus, being eighty thousand miles in 
diameter ; and Uranus is nearly twice as large as 
l^eptune. The diameters of Yenus and the Earth are 
nearly equal, each of them being twice as great as 
that of Mars, whose distance from the sun is more 
than one third greater than that of the Earth, and 
more than twice the distance of Yenus. There is, 
then, no regularity to be found here, however import- 
ant an element it may be in the hypothesis. The 
measure of density adopted, and which is sustained 
by the exact calculation of some of the planets, 
reduces Uranus dowm to an inconceivably attenuated 
mist, and ISTeptune to " the shadow^ of a shade." 
The density of the planets is different, but not more 
regular in increase than in their size. Indeed, there 
is no law, either in their distance, size, or density. 
Appearances at first seem to indicate the existence of 
such laws, but observation and measurement establish 
exceptions to them, at once too numerous and too 



74 



PLAXETARY GEOUPS. 



great to admit of such a belief. The advocates of the 
theory are not more fortunate in the motion of the 
heavenly bodies ; for it is found that the satellites of 
Uranus have a retrograde motion, that is, from east 
to west. This fact appears to be established ; and it 
conflicts with calculations more important than the 
nebular theory. We will see hereafter that the 
maiform motion of all the bodies, including satellites, 
in one direction, is considered necessary to the 
stability of the system. 

In connection with these differences, we may refer 
to the contrast between the interior and exterior 
planetary groups. The members of the interior 
group are denser, rotate more slov*dy and with nearly 
equal velocity, and are less compressed at the poles. 
The compression at their poles may be accounted for 
by their velocity, but beyond this there is no inherent 
necessity, no natural law, by which their peculiarities 
can be explained. The time of rotation diminishes 
with increasing solar distance, yet it is greater in 
Mars than in the earth, and in Saturn than in Jupiter. 
The same differences exist in the ellipticity of their 
orbit^. Juno, Pallas and Mercury have the greatest 
degree of eccentricity. " The eccentricities of Juno 
and Pallas," says the illustrious Humboldt, "are 
very nearly identical, and are each three times as 
great as those of Ceres and Yesta. The same may be 



ASTKONOMT. 75 

said of the inclination of the orbits of tll^ planets 
toward the i:)lane of projection of the ecliptic, or in 
the position of their axes of rotation with relation to 
their orbits ; a position on which the relations ol 
climate, seasons of the year, and length of the days 
depend, more than on eccentricity. Those planets 
that have the most elongated elliptic orbits, as Jnno, 
Pallas, and Mercnry, have also, though not to the 
same degree, their orbits, most strongly inclined 
toward the ecliptic. Pallas has a comet-like inclina- 
tion nearly twenty-six times greater than that of 
Jupiter ; whilst in the little planet, Yesta, which is 
so near Pallas, the angle of inclination scarcely by 
six times exceeds that of Jupiter. An equally irregu- 
lar succession is observed in the position of the axes 
of the few planets whose planes of rotation we know 
with any degree of certainty. It would appear from 
the position of the satellites of Uranus, two of which, 
the second and fourth, have been recently observed 
with certainty, that the axis of this planet is scarcely 
inclined as much as eleven degrees toward the plane 
of its orbit ; while Saturn is placed between this 
planet, whose axis coincides with the plane of 
its orbit, and Jupiter, whose axis of rotation is 
nearly perpendicular to it. * * ^ - 
The planetary system, in its relations of absolute 
size, and the relative position of the axis, density, time 



i b CEEPUSCrLAE THEORY. 

of rotation, and different degrees of eccentricity of the 
orbits, does not appear to offer to our apprehension 
any stronger evidence of a natnral necessity, than the 
proportion observed in the distribntion of land and 
Avater on the earth, the configuration of continents, or 
the height of mountain chains. In these respects we 
can discover no common law in the regions of space, 
or in the inequalities of the earth's crust." 

We have noticed every evidence which contributed 
to sup^oort the nebular hypothesis, except those de- 
rived from the crepuscular theory of light, and the 
zodiacal light ; and we have found that the evidences 
themselves either had no existence, or that they 
proved the reverse of the theory. The crepuscular 
theory of light has yielded to another more reason- 
able, and which agrees more fully with knovm 
phenomena. While the writer does not believe 
in the correctness of either of the theories of 
light, he considers the undulatory the ]nost reason- 
able and probable. This certainly does not agree 
with the idea advanced by the friends of the hypo- 
thesis ; and the other theory is almost entirely su- 
perseded. The uncertainty which continues to 
hang about the origin, character, and destiny of 
the zodiacal light, prevents us from sj^eaking as 
positively concerning it. But we believe that future 
discoveries will also rob the hypothesis of this, its 



ASTRONOMY. 7 i 

.list support ; for the same discoveries will, if tlie 
the past have not already, remove even the shadc>'v 
of an argument, so far as the appearances of the 
Magellanic clouds are concerned. 

But we pass from negative to positive evidence ; 
from the imaginary evidences of an empty theory to 
the astonishing facts and beautiful adaptations of a 
glorious reality. While speaking of the planets, their 
axes, orbits, and eccenti-icities, we were necessarily 
compelled to anticipate this part of the subject ; for 
it appeared impossible to pass them by without allud- 
ing to the evidences of design, which were written in 
characters as bright as the sunlight in which they re- 
volved. Many of the arrangements to which we have 
referred, although they are, as we have seen, indis- 
pensably necessary in the harmoniously acting ma- 
chinery of the universe, do not result from any known 
physical law, and cannot be accounted for by any 
thing within the compass of scientific research. They 
are not the offs]3ring of gravity, that mysterious power 
which pervades the universe, and binds the various 
parts in relations of dependency. Without them, the 
harmony and beauty, as well as the permanency of 
the system, would be lost ; yet they ap|)ear inde- 
pendent of all physical laws, and must depend upon 
some power without and above the solar system, if 
upon any. God, who created and designed the 



78 70ICE OF j^ATUEE. 

various parts to perform their resj)ectiye offices, wrote 
out the law of their existence in the act of their crea- 
tion. " Thus far and no farther ;" to that end and no 
other, spake the Almighty at the time he separated 
the heavens from the earth, and drew the boundary 
line between the drj land and the watery deep ; and 
thus, when He scattered His starry host, and planted 
His planetary sentinels through the infinitude of space, 
were their axes fixed, their orbits prescribed, and their 
eccentricities limited. 

" He spake, and it was done ; eternal night, 
At God's command, awakened into light ; 
He called the elements, earth, ocean, air — 
He called them when they were not, and they were. 
He looked through space, and, kindling o'er the sky, 
Sun, moon, and stars, came forth to meet His eye. 
His Spirit moved upon the desert earth. 
And sudden life through all things warm'd into birth. 
Man from the dust. He raised to rule the whole ; 
He breathed, and man became a living soul ; 
Thus were the heavens and all the hosts displayed, 
In wisdom thus were earth's foundations laid." 

To confirm this, the smallest insect beneath our 
feet — the creature of a moment's duration — and the 
mighty planetary and stellar systems, scattered through 
infinity, in a single revolution of which unnumbered 
years are exhausted, unite their testimony. Each is 
a mystery beyond the comprehension of man, and both 
-silently point him upward for the revelation he seeks. 



ASTEONOMY. 79 



III. 



PHYSICAL LAWS. 

In speaking of the eccentricities of the planetary 
orbits, we referred to the evidences of Clairant, 
Lagrange, and LaPlace, to show that the planets 
were- so controlled by ]3hysical forces or laws, that 
they would always observe a mean ; that if they did 
wander they would surely return ; and that thus all 
danger to the system was avoided : to this we may 
add what is indeed a most important fact, furnishing 
as it does the most conclusive evidence of original 
design. The same distinguished astronomers suc- 
ceeded in proving, that the eccentricities and inclina- 
tions of the planetary orbits, and the revolution of all 
the bodies in the same direction, were conditions 
necessary to secure the stability of the system. More 
recently it was asserted that the periodicity of the 
terms of the series expressing the perturbations was 
sufficient within itself; but this proved to be a mis- 
take. M. Poisson has shown that the three condi- 
tions referred to are requisite for the necessary con- 
vergence of the series, and are therefore indispensable 
elements. It appears from this, that the conditions 
which man's imagination converted into the elements 



80 STABILITY OF THE SYSTEM. 

of destruction, are the ones wliicli the Ceeatoe made 
essential to the system. The stone which the builders 
rejected has become the corner-stone of the mighty 
edifice, the simplest component parts of which are 
beyond the comprehension of man. ' The talents and 
accumulated learning, and the untiring perseverance 
of centuries, have enabled him to weigh the planetary 
bodies and measure the immensity of their orbits, and 
partially to comprehend the mysterious forces whicli 
bind them in one great sj^stem ; but beyond this he 
has not been able to penetrate. The inner sanctuary 
of the Almighty's dwelling-place, and the innumera- 
ble potencies which move the hidden machinery, have 
not yet been exposed to the gaze of mortals. 

The planets are constantly subjected to, and are 
influenced by, certain forces which move them in 
different ways; yet the counter influences of these 
forces, and the attractive power of the sun, prevent 
these variations from becoming great. But minute 
as . these changes or variations are, says the distin- 
guished authoress - heretofore referred to, they might 
be supposed to accumulate, in the course of ages, 
sufiiciently to derange the whole order of nature, to 
alter the relative j)Ositions of the planets, to put an end 
to the vicissitudes of the seasons, and to bring about 
collisions which would involve our whole system, 
now so harmonious, in chaotic confusion. It is 



ASTRONOMY. 81 

natural to inquire, what proof exists that nature will 
be preserved from such a catastrophe ? Nothing can 
he known from observation, since the existence of 
tiie human race has occupied comparatively but a 
point in duration, while these vicissitudes embrace 
myriads of ages. The proof, however, is simple and 
conclusive. All the variations of the solar system, 
secular as well as periodic, are expressed analytically 
by the sines and cosines of circular arcs, which in- 
crease with the time ; and as a sine or cosine can 
never exceed the radius, but must oscillate between 
zero and unity, however much the time may increase, 
it follows that when the variations have accumulated 
to a maximum, by slow changes, in however long a 
time, they decrease by the same slow degrees till 
they arrive at their smallest value, again to begin a 
new com'se ; thus for ever oscillating about a mean 
value. This circumstance, however, would be insuf- 
ficient, were it not for the small eccentricities of the 
planetary orbits, their minute inclinations to the 
plane of the ecliptic, and the revolutions of all the 
l^odies, as well planets as satellites, in the same 
direction. These secure the perpetual stability of the 
solar system. 

But suppose it is admitted that all these conditions 
and cooperating forces might result, or even that they 
did result from the laws of gravity and centrifugal 



82 

force, and that these laws are self-existent, or neces- 
sary to matter itself, which is not contended for ; yet, 
when we find that these conditions are necessary to 
the existence of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, 
and that the earth — for we can speak positively of no 
other body — would be a waste in the great creation 
if it were not for the laws which cause its rotation and 
revolution, and regulate its axis and orbit, can we 
resist the conviction that every part is the work of an 
all-wise Intelligence, to whom the past and the fu- 
ture are known, and to whose will all agencies are 
obedient ? 

While the earth revolves around its own axis, it 
moves in an elliptical orbit around its primary, the 
sun. In this annual motion the axis of the earth is 
inclined from the perpendicular to its orbit at an angle 
of twenty-three degrees and twenty-eight minutes ; 
and during the time of the motion, the diameter is 
kept parallel to the same direction. By this simj^le 
but stupendous contrivance, the changes of the sea- 
sons and temperature are effected. Had the axis of 
the earth been perpendicular to the plane of its orbit, 
like Jupiter, (and we see no physical cause to have 
prevented it,) the same places would have had the sun 
always vertical . Under such an arrangement the equa- 
torial regions would have been parched with intolerable 
heat, and that which is now the fjiirest portion of our 



ASTEOXOMY. 83 

globe would have been doomed to sterility and deso- 
lation. Bj tliis inclination of the eartli's axis, all 
parts are brongbt more or less nnder the solar infin- 
ence ; and thns the various climates are modified. 
But there are other elements equally important in pro- 
ducing the variety of seasons, and in securing the 
beautiful and necessary alternations, Avliich make our 
globe the scene of snch varied and evei'-active life. 
AYe are nearer the sun during the winter than we are 
during the summer ; the diiference in the temperature 
of the seasons does not therefore depend on proximity 
to the sun, but on the time the terrestrial surface is ex- 
posed to its rays, and the manner in which they are 
received, whether vertically or obliquely. During 
our near approach to the sun, (for the earth is about 
one twenty-ninth of its whole distance from the sun 
nearer to it during its perihelion than it is during its 
aphelion,) its velocity is increased in proportion to the 
decrease of the square of its distance. It is this in- 
creased angular velocity of the earth, when at its 
perihelion, that protects us from the excess of heat to 
which our comparatively near approach to the sun 
would otherwise ex230se us. 

"Were it not for this," says Sir John Herschel, 
" the eccentricity of the orbit would materially influ- 
ence the transition of the seasons. The fluctuation 
of distance amounts to nearlv one thirtieth of its mean 



84 

quantity, and consequently, the ilnctnation in the 
snn's direct heating power to double this, or one fif- 
teenth of the whole. ]N"ow, the perihelion of the orbit 
is situated at the place of the northern winter solstice ; 
so that, were it uot for the compensation we have just 
described, the effect would be to exa2:2:erate the dif- 
ference of summer and winter in the southern hemi- 
sphere, and to moderate it in tlie northern ; thus 
producing a more violent alternation of climate in tlie 
one hemisphere, and an approach to perpetual spring in 
the other. As it is, however, no such inequality sub- 
sists, but an equal and impartial distribution of heat 
and light is accorded to both." Thus, though the 
seasons depend on the inclination of the earth's axis 
to its orbit, the influence of this inclination would be 
partially defeated by the eccentricity, were it not 
for that law of gravity, by which the velocity is in- 
creased in proportion to the decrease of the square of 
the distance. The one-fifteenth increase of solar heat, 
which, without some compensation, would seriously 
aggravate the sufferings of all exposed to the direct 
solar rays, is thus avoided by the increased angular 
velocity. But we have seen that the inclination of 
the axis of the earth's orbit is wholly arbitrary, and 
that it might have been even as Jupiter's, which is 
perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. This, would, 
as we have heretofore remarked, have changed en- 



ASTRONOMY. 85 

tirelj the character of our globe. This, then, for we 
can arrive at no other conclusion, must have been 
designed originally for the important offices it per- 
forms, by the Power that created it ; and that Power 
must have been intelligent and all-powerful, for no 
other could have foreseen the necessity of this condi- 
tion and established it as a law\ 

A single glance at the heavens appears sufficient to 
establish the tact that the celestial bodies, their 
arrangement and movements, are the result of a well- 
ordered system, conceived and carried out by a self- 
existent Creator. And certainly a long continued 
examination and study of them does not change the 
first deep impression ; indeed it is only the superfi- 
cial observer, or he whose mind is impervious, and 
who delights to challenge accumulative evidence, 
that ftiils to be convinced, or asks additional proof. 
Nothincy is wantino^ to fit the earth for the sfreat 
offices of life. Every law essential for this purpose, 
whether connected with the centre of heat and liirht, 
the distant planets, or the earth itself, is stamped un- 
alterably upon them ; and not only on these, but on 
everything connected with them — particularly on the 
atmosphere — that important agent without which all 
else would be useless. 

Plain and convincing, however, as these facts 
appear to us, they have not always produced the 



86 COPEKNICUS, GALILEO. 

same conviction on other minds. Men, learned in 
almost every branch of hnman knowledge, have 
viewed these evidences of original design in the 
creation, in a very different light. They saw no 
moving power behind the horizon that bomid their 
vision ; heard no voice within their own sonls direct- 
ing them to a presiding Intelligence, to whom all 
physical forces are obedient ; felt no hnmility before 
the dread potencies which held and moved the va- 
rious jDlanetary systems in their orbits. But, for the 
honor of our species, there have been few only so 
constituted ; and these have not been the greatest. 
It was not so .with Copernicus, after years of patient 
but persevering industry had furnished him the data 
which were to establish the true system of the Uni- 
verse ; not so with him, when he was persecuted by 
a bigoted and intolerant church, and publicly ridi- 
culed by a community whose diseases he had healed, 
and w^hose poverty he had relieved ; not so when he 
rallied his energies in the last moment of life, to 
touch the immortal volume just published, before 
passing into a higher state of existence, to test the 
truth of his theory and receive the reward of his 
labors. It was not so with Galileo, when rich in 
experience and knowledge, and venerable in years, 
he was compelled by the same intolerant spirit to 
renounce a system which his enlightened conscience 



ASTEOXOMY. SI 

approved, and succeeding ages have confirmed. Kot 
so with Descartes, when Holland achieved a distinc- 
tion in persecnting him, almost as unenviable as Italy 
established when she forced the venerable G-alileo to 
bow, and disgraced herself bv libelling both science 
and natm^e. 

The good and the great of all ages, and all civilized 
countries, have recognized something more than mere 
physical force in the dread agencies around them. 
They have felt and still feel that these things had a 
beginning and must have an ending ; but that there 
is that which had no beginning, and can liaA^e no 
ending, to whom the past and present are known, 
and to whose future they confidently committed 
spirits chastened by humility and purified by love. 
With such we desire to be found ; for they not only 
excite our sympathy, but command our admiration 
and respect. In the eloquent language of another : 
" If they erred, it was in a heavenly region; if they 
wandered, it was in the fields of light ; if they 
aspired, it was at all events a glorious daring ; and 
rather than sink with infidelity into the dust, we are 
content to cheat ourselves with their vision of eternity. 
It may, indeed, be nothing but delusion, but then it 
was and is the delusion of the disciples of philosophy 
and of ^drtue ; of men who drank deep at the foun- 
tain of human knowledge, but w^ho dissolved not the 



88 EVIDENCES AROUND US. 

pearl of their salvation in the draught. We err with 
Bacon, the great confident of nature, fraught with all 
the learning of the past, and almost prescient of the 
future ; vet too wise not to know his weakness, and 
too philosophic not to feel his ignorance. We err 
with Milton, rising on an angel's wing to heaven, 
and like the bird of morn, soaring out of sight, amid 
the music of his grateful pietj. We err T^ith Locke, 
whose pure philosophy only taught him to adore its 
source ; whose warm love of genuine liberty was 
never chilled into rebellion with its Author. We 
err with ]!^ewton, whose star-like spirit shot athwart 
the darkness of the sphere, too soon to re-ascend to 
the home of his nativity." 

But we need not appeal to human evidence to 
sustain us ; nor is it necessary to cast a longing eye 
up to the mysterious and unknown, to interrogate the 
ever-active elements and forces, which answer onlv 
by the silence and grandeur of their motions. We 
are surrounded by witnesses, less imposing, perhaps, 
but not less truthful. Who has not felt the truth of 
these lines, while watching an autumnal sunset, when 
the great luminary, drawing his vestment of crimson 
iiwd gold more closely around him, sunk behind the 
horizon ; or wliile gazing upon the still more gorgeous 
and thrilling scene of an ocean sunrise, when from 
cloud to cloud the varied hues of lio-ht like animate 



i\STEONOMY. 89 

beings passed, until tlie deep-blue element itself 
seemed all on fire ; or as he stood on natm*e's moun- 
tain-altars, looking np into the boundless infinite of 
noon-da J, breathing an atmosphere composed of difi'er- 
ent elements, all blending in one great ocean of kind- 
ness ? "Who has not felt that here, even on this mate- 
rial globe, and within the range of human vision, 
enough, yea, more than sufiicient existed to inspire the 
noblest feelings of his nature, and to lead him trem- 
bling to the throne of the Eteknal ! But what are 
these, all these, — the gorgeous settings and risings of 
the great luminary ; the smiling valley or stupendous 
mountain ; the mighty ocean with its surging billows, 
or the boundless fields of planetary matter, — if we do 
not hear them join with the immortal Galen in his 
hymn of praise in honor of their Ckeatoe ? They 
are distinctly heard, however, by the attentive ear of 
E"ature's votary ; and it is this that arouses man from 
the dreamy reverie into which he so easily falls, and 
points his timid eye to the Almighty hand, wrapped 
in the radiance of its own existence, which suj^ports 
the machinery of the universe, and moves the car of 
humanity onward. 



PART III. 



GEOLOGY. 

I. ; 

Turning om- eyes from the brilliant lieavenly orbs, 
which lie like jewels scattered through the depths of 
infinite space, to the less beantifnl, bnt not less inte- 
resting phenomena bnried in the planet we inhabit, 
we shall find the transition easy : for although the 
phenomena are difterent in their natnre, they tend to 
establish the same facts ; and thns reciprocally prove 
each other to be the work of the same designing 
Intelligence. 

AsTEONOMY is the elder sister, and as snch, her 
claims to consideration were acknowledged, while 
Geology was struggling in the arms of inexperienced 
luu'ses ; besides, the elder has everything necessary 
to excite the admiration and fascinate the mind, con- 
nected with it. At noon-day, the eye is involun- 
tarily turned upwards to the great source of light and 



GEOLOGY. 91 

heat, and the mind as iiiYoluntarily asks the nature 
of these phenomena ; and while we watch the smking 
orb to the limits of the rising horizon, as it fades 
gradually away into the bosom of the approaching 
night, and see the stars burst out upon the wide- 
spread canopy, and again hide themselves amid the 
light of the early morn, we can but look on with 
increasing interest, and a more earnest desire to com- 
prehend the mighty and beautiful changes which 
mark the alternation of day and night, — and of labor 
and rest. But the half-hidden resources of the earth, 
and its deeply-buried treasures, covered with the dust 
of centuries — disfigured and discolored by the convul- 
sions to which they owe their existence and locality, 
have been studied and developed only as the necesi- 
ties of man required it. Unknown and unvalued in 
the earlier ages, it was not until recently that their 
importance was felt, and the mystery of their crea- 
tion acknowledged. 

Astronomy gathered strength and beauty, under 
the fostering care of the noble spirits to w^hom she 
had been committed ; while geology was so contorted 
by the conflicting struggles of the Yulcanists and 
ISTeptunists, that for a long time it remained question- 
able whether she would survive, or if she did, 
whether she would not be imperfect and unnatural. 
But these w^ere questions of time merely. They had 



92 ITS TEUE POSITIOX. 

similar trials in their infancy, and liad the same 
enemies, ignorance, and intolerant superstition, to 
overcome. The spirit that followed Copernicns, and 
Galileo, and Descartes, found the venerable Bnffon in 
the middle of the eio;hteenth centurv, and left him 
not, nntil he abandoned everything in his book 
resj)ecting the foundation of the earth, and generally, 
all which was contrary to the Mosaic Cosmoo-onv. 

But these sister sciences have been equally trium- 
phant ; and now from the vantage ground of a sm^e 
foundation, they unite their testimony to explain 
each other. And while they point out the sources of 
comfort and happiness so richly provided for man- 
kind, they also silently but eloquently urge him to a 
higher and purer faith, and a deeper and holier 
adoration. It was not, however, until recently, that 
geology contributed to this end. Want of know- 
ledge, and a fear of unsettling the foundations of the 
Christian religion, kept her votaries trembling over 
conflicting theories, some of which are yet unsettled. 
But sufficient is now known to warrant the most 
satisfactory conclusions, and to justify the following 
reflections, which we ofter in connection with the 
other sciences, in order to exhibit the harmony and 
beauty of the mighty chain of arrangement and 
adaptation which encircles the universe. 

Each successive era of discovery in this science, gave 



GEOLOGY. 93 

birth to its own theory of creation ; which continued 
with more or less popularity, until a new theory, 
based upon new discoveries, succeeded it. In the 
course of these changes, and after the fossil history 
of the earth, had been partially studied, the theory of 
a gradual subsidence of oui- globe and the develop- 
ment of vegetable and animal life, was advanced by 
various speculative minds. The grandeur of the 
changes which this theory presented for contempla- 
tion ; and the excitement and pleasure which the 
hope of unlocking the crypts of the primeval world, 
and reading the mysterious story of past centuries 
and extinct genera, afforded the student and the 
philosopher ; and the fact that the E'ebular Hypo- 
thesis, so strongly supported by astronomical observa- 
tion, agreed perfectly with this theory, gave it a 
wider circulation and greater interest than any of the 
preceding. Indeed, the magnitude of the subjects 
contemplated, and their important connection with 
the origin and destiny of mankind, were in them- 
selves quite sufficient to excite the philosophic and 
Christian world. 

The boldness of the speculations which followed 
this theory, or rather grew out of it, has no parallel 
in the history of the human mind. The evidences on 
which it was based, were not only weak and unsatis- 
factory, but of a most doubtful and conflicting ch'^r- 



94 HrMAN TVEAEIJTESS. 

acter ; depending cliiefly npon the bungling inter- 
pretation of a witness whose language was imper- 
fectly understood : and whose signification was im- 
properly rendered, bj ignorant or designing officials. 
Yet, the records of the Evangelist and the truths of 
revelation, written on stone bv the hand of the 
Almighty, amid the thunders of Sinai — attested bv a 
long line of miracles performed and prophecies ful- 
filled, and sealed with, fire from heaven, were set 
aside as the idle dream of some ingenious impostor, 
to whose mind the past, the present, and the future, 
were dimly visible. But such is the disposition of 
human nature, — the doubtful, the mysterious, and the 
unknown, excite more interest, and too frequently 
more faith, than those real and tangible things by 
which, we are smTOunded ; or such even as are 
inwi^ouglit with our existence. It is this, that unfixes 
the mind, — that gives it a wandering, unsettled char- 
acter, — that fascinates it with the imaginary colors 
of revery and dreams ; unfits it for the necessary 
efforts and iron tasks of usefulness ; that supplants 
the real with the imaginary, and finally robs it of the 
only genuine source of happiness, faith in the pro- 
tecting care of an ever-present and merciful Provi- 
dence, during this life, and of a hereafter, compared 
with which, the beauties and blessings of the present, 
are but faint reflections. To such, life is unreal and 



GEOLOGY. 95 

empty ; a wild, uncultivated sand-desert, uncheered 
by fountain, or flower, or harvest-field. They 
have no true conception of its obligations and 
duties, and without making any good and lasting 
impression on the world without, or receiving any 
on the soul within, they die and are forgotten. ' For- 
gotten — by the world only, not by all ; one day at 
least, and by one person, will they be remembered, 
when the talents received are by the Mastee 
demanded with usury. The history of that day is 
already written ; to it we refer the listless wanderer, 
as we would the weather-beaten bark to a port, for 
safety. 

The development hypothesis, to which we have 
referred as the last fruit of speculative daring, finds 
its chief support in the records of geology. The 
living world presents little, if anything, to warrant 
such a belief; but the evidences gathered from the 
fossil history of extinct species, before the mighty 
pages of the earth were fully unsealed, seemed to 
authorize much that was advanced. There was 
nothing, however, at any j)eriod of geological pro- 
gress, that could be construed by a reasonable and 
just method, into the support of the develoj)ment 
hypothesis, and the atheistical ideas to which it 
gave birth. But, in order the more perfectly to com- 
prehend our subject, we will give a brief statement 



96 M. GEOFFREY ST. HILL AIRE. 

of the theory, and of the phenomena on which it was 
based, before we examine the argument, or refer to 
subsequent and more satisfactory discoveries. 



11. 



THE DEVELOPMENT THEORY. 

M. Geoffrey St. Hillaire, contended that the exist- 
ing . species sprang from the extinct forms ; and it 
is farther insisted, that the history of the change 
or transmutation is found registered in the rock 
record of the past. This idea was not without sup- 
porters of large and varied experience. Lamarck 
was among them, and not the least important. While 
laboring to distinguish the various genera and species, 
he found that they constantly ran into each other ; or 
were separated, if at all, by lines too indistinct to be 
discovered. He also found great disj)arity between 
those which he knew must have descended from the 
same stock. These facts contributed to induce him 
to advocate the theory of transmutation. But it was 
not these things alone which induced that opinion ; 
other phenomena contributed to the result. He was 
also influenced by the change produced in various 
vegetables, by cultivation, climate, locality, &c., and 
the fact that they transmitted their newly-acquired 



GEOLOGr. 97 

character, by which means a new plant or species 
was introduced into the kingdom ; and also, by the 
change effected on birds, fowls, w^olves, horses, &c., 
by domestication. 

He contended, that every change in the circum.- 
stances by which animals w^ere surrounded, created 
new desires, which resulted in a change of habits. 
These caused changes in their physical structure, 
which, in order to accommodate itself to the new^ cir- 
cumstances, took additional organs and varied forms. 
Organs useless, by reason of the change, gradually 
wasted away ; and others, better ada^^ted to the new^ 
conditions of life, were developed by the force of 
necessity. Thus, by degrees, the whole physical 
structure w^as remodelled. Having assumed the fact, 
that external circumstances may cause a change in 
the organs, he proceeded to j^oint out instances of a 
supposed change. Otters, beavers, &c., he contended 
were not originally created wxb-footed ; but, that as 
their wants led them to the water in search of food, 
they stretched out their toes to swim, until, by con- 
tinued efforts, the skin at the base of the toes became 
elastic, and finally grew into the broad membrane 
which now so admirably fits them for the water. 

Fear, and a desire to escape from the carnivora 
which fed upon the antelope and gazelle, had the 
effect of remodelling their forms ; changing the dif- 



98 lamaeck's speculations. 

ferent and less OTaceful limbs into siicli as now dis- 
tinguisli those beautiful animals. The nature of 
the country and foliage, drew out the neck of the 
cameleoj^ard, and prepared it for its native land, the 
interior of Africa. These were some of the starting 
points for the transmutation theorj". 

The discoveries in geology opened up a new field 
for conjecture. In its early stages or history, it ap- 
peared to support the theory of Lamarck and his 
predecessors. It was said, and with some truth at 
the time, that the earliest fossils were of the simj^lest 
forms of organic life ; and that each succeeding strata 
of the earth's crust exhibited higher and higher 
organisms. Thus, becoming more and more perfect, 
until the tertiary period crowned the list with man ; 
the present ruling monarch, at once the highest 
organism and noblest specimen of created matter. 

These cosmogonists, take the material globe, formed 
and fashioned out of the nebulous matter, under the 
influences referred to in our chapter on that subject, 
immediately after it takes its place .in the family of 
worlds ; and covering it with its crystalline coat of 
rocks of irregular thickness, invest it with power, in- 
dej)endent of all other agencies, to cover its rugged 
surface with the vegetable variety which adorns it — 
the rivers which gladden it with their music, and 
refresh it with their moisture— and the countless 



GEOLOGY. 99 

tenantry, which quicken it with the stir and bnstle 
of life, and mark its strata with their bones. Ttiej 
commence with the crystalline rocks, which thej 
call the "bases rocks." ISText to these follow the 
stratified rocks, which appear to have been thrown 
up out of their original positions, and frequently rent 
asunder by some internal force. These rents are 
again filled up by crystalline matter resembling the 
great primitiv^e bed ; which must have been forced 
up w^hile in a state of fusion. " Thus," says one of 
these cosmogonists, " there is first a great inferior 
mass composed of crystalline rock, and probably 
resting immediately on the fused and expanded mat- 
ter of the interior; next, layers or strata of aqueous 
origin ; next, irregular masses of melted inferior 
rock, that have been sent up volcanically and con- 
fusedly at various times amongst the aqueous rocks, 
breaking up these masses, and tossing them out of 
their original levels." From these facts they pre- 
sumed that the crystalline rocks, of which granite is 
the type, is the condition into which the solids of the 
earth were agglomerated. 

These rocks contain no organic remains — no fossil 
hieroglyphics for the learned to decipher, or the 
curious to admire. A solid strata of variable thick- 
ness, enclosing the igneous agencies of our globe, 
and bearing on its surface the accumulated deposit 



100 CONTBASTS IN NATURE. 

cf nnnumbered centuries. The dividing line between 
])otencies which communicate with the external 
elements, through the mouth of the crater — the 
rising and sinking of islands and continents, and the 
convulsive movements of the earth itself, bv which 
their history has been written and their power attest- 
ed ; and the outward elements, so beautifully com- 
bined for the purposes of good — so harmoniously 
blending and co-operating together in their reciprocal 
and indispensable office, that the varied and necessary 
changes are effected without deranging the laws of 
A'egetable and animal life. Day and night, winter 
and summer, seedtime and harvest, are all welcomed 
in their turn ; each making the other more desirable, 
and all contributing to the gross sum of human happi- 
ness. The fertile valley offers up its treasure, even 
under the shadow of the burning volcano. The fear- 
ful chasm of the earthquake, is filled by vegetable 
and detached mineral matter, and covered w^ith the 
ivy and the vine ; while the bald surface of the new- 
born island is clothed with flowers and evero;reens. 

Such is the contrast between the internal and ex- 
ternal elements of our globe. A contrast which meets 
us at every turn w^e take in the innumerable and 
diversified walks of nature. But it is too frequently 
unseen, and seldom, if ever,- fully aj^preciatecL The 
harvests of fruits and grains, haA^e their annual retuni 



GEOLOGY. 101 

celebrated by many a well-measured line ; but the 
combining elements, and changing solar rays, by 
which this well-appointed plenty is secured, are 
seldom seen even by the eye which their labor 
brightens. This, however wrong in appearance, may 
yet be rig] it. The great eternal Aitthor lifts the 
mind up to the contemplation of Himself by other 
means, and deems it best. 

JN^ext, in the ascending steps of these theorists, the 
Grauwacke, or Silurian system is interrogated. This 
system rests generally on the primary bed, but in 
some cases directly on the granite. Here the trans- 
mutationists find the first evidences of organic re- 
mains ; sea-plants, corals, and shell-fish ; the humblest 
divisions of the veo:etable and animal kin^'doms. The 
radiata, articulata, and mollusca, were, according to 
their report, represented by their simplest forms ; 
while the higher and more perfect divisions were 
wholly wanting. Ascending to the next strata, they 
found the fossils more abundant; in which, the 
trilobites, various genera of mollusks, gasteropoda, 
and cephalopoda, make their appearance. First, the 
lowest orders of the mollusks, then a higher order, and 
continuing to advance until the highest is reached 
Establishing, even in these early records, the progres 
sive tendency of organic matter. 'Next in the scale, 

and a little above the Llandielo rocks, certain annelides 
5^ 



102 OLD EED SAXDSTOXE. 

or ?ea-Avorms vrere fovind. Tliey were red-blooded; 
and it was supposed that tliey formed a link of con- 
nection between the white-blooded worms, and the 
hmnblest classes of the vertebrata. 

Passing into the Lndlow rocks they found the re- 
mains of '• six genera of fishes of obscnre character," 
and afterwards the remains of minnte fishes dis- 
covered in the Amystry limestone, by ]\Ir. Phillips. 
Thus, the friends of the theory, are encouraged as 
they ascend in the strata of the earth. The various 
witnesses aj^pear to confirm each other. There is no 
conflict of- testimony notwithstanding the multi^jlicity 
and variety of the sources from which it is cbawn, 
and the utter impossibility of conference and prior 
agreement between the witnesses. 

Ascending, they find themselves next in the Old 
Ped Saxdstoxe or Devoxlix groujD, where they find 
an increase of fossil fishes. The silurian forms con- 
tinue, but they show a decrease. The fishes in this 
system are not, according to the theory, of the highest 
order, although, they show signs of advancement. 
'• The predominating fishes of this system and the 
only ones which existed for some ages,*' says an advo- 
cate of this theory, '• are arranged by M. Agassiz, in 
two orders, with regard to their external covering, 
which that naturalist holds to be. in fishes, a refiection 
of the internal oro^anization. Both, it is to be re- 



GEOLOGY. 103 

marked at the very &sl, are manifestly of an inferior 
character to the two other orders which afterwards 
came into existence, and still are the principal fishes 
of om' seas, these being covered by true scales, and 
respectively named Ctenoid and Cycloid, from .the 
forms of that part of their organization. The two 
ordei-s of early fish are covered with integuments 
considerably difierent in character : the one {pl<icoi<h) 
with irregnlar enamelled p>lates, the other {ganoids) 
with regular enamelled scales, the first being not 
placed over each other, as scales are, but laid edge io 
edge, in the manner of a pavement. Tliese charac- 
ters, according to M. Agassiz, were accompanied by 
a rudimentary or cartilaginous skeleton, while the 
Ctenoids and Cycloids possess an Osseous structure.-' 

" Of certain of the ganoids, it is remarked by every 
geologist, liow much they approximate to the form 
and armature of the crustaceans, an order of the next 
lower department of the animal kingdom," 

" The cephalaspis may be considered as making 
the smallest advance from the crustacean character : 
it very much resembles in form the asaphus of lower 
formations, having a longish tail-like body inserted 
within the crust of a large crescent-shaped head, 
somewhat like a saddlers cutting-knife. The bodv is 
covered with strong plates of bone, enamelled, and 
the head is protected on the upper side with one 



104 ELEVATION OF MOUNTAINS. 

Itirge plate as with a buckler — hence the name, im- 
plying bnclder-head. A range of small fins conveys 
the idea of its having been as weak in motion as it 
was strong in stmcture/' 

We cannot admit that, this argument is a good 
one, even if they had the basis for it ; but this they 
have not. These positions are assumed ones ; and 
the authority which they presume to quote is grossly 
abused. But, we leave it for facts hereafter stated to 
contradict. Up to this period, their light wa.s un- 
cheered by land plants, from which, with their 
characteristic readiness, they inferred that there was 
no dry land in this era of the world's history. But, 
happily for them and us, this state of things could 
not always continue. Change is written upon all 
things, and not less certainly on systems which 
require centuries to effect it. The elements were at 
work, and in due time the Grampians, Alps, Appen- 
nines, Pyrenees, and Carpathians, emerged from 
the wide extended ocean. Thus commenced the era 
of drv land, and with it, a new order of thino:s. 

The carboniferous formation, with which they date 
the earliest dryland, is one of great interest, not only 
to the theorist, but to the world. It is appreciated 
by all classes, and all ages ; the ricn and the poor, — 
the ignorant son of idleness, the child of poverty, and 
the profound j^hilosopher. But, at present we are to 



GEOLOGY. 105 

consider the part this group is forced to perform in 
the theory of Development, and not the ten thousand 
nses to which its coal-beds are put, and the innumer- 
able blessings resulting from that well-appointed 
provision for the benefit and happiness of mankind. 

The advocates of Development linger long v/ith 
this formation ; indeed, it may be called their favorite 
one. It is composed chiefly of limestone formed in 
different ways : first, by the accumulation of carbo- 
nate of lime in the bottom of deep seas, which is 
afterwards conglomerated by volcanic action ; second- 
ly, by the coral deposits ; and thirdly, such as are 
composed almost entirely of marine shells. From the 
immense coal-beds, found in this formation, these 
inferential gentlemen infer that the vegetable king- 
dom predominated ; and that it was more luxuriant 
than at any preceding or subsequent period of the 
earth's history. But, notwithstanding the luxuriance 
of that Floka, they contend that it was composed 
entirely of gigantic shrubs, at present but partially 
represented. " Two-thirds of the plants of the car- 
boniferous era are of the cellular or cryptogamic 
kind." Thus they attempt to prove that the earth's 
Flora, as well as its Fauna, commenced with the 
humblest characters ; the flowerless lichens, mosses, 
feriis, &c. Associated with these they found the 
lepidodendra, now extinct, whose internal structure 



106 CAEBOmFEEOUS FLOKA. 

induced them to believe that they were a kind of link 
between the singel-lobed and donble-lobed plants. 

In conclusion, the author from whom we have 
quoted, says : " such was the vegetation of the car- 
boniferous era, composed of forms at the bottom of 
the botanical scale, iiowerless, fruitless, but luxuriant 
and abundant beyond what the most favored spots on 
earth can now show. The rigidity of the leaves of its- 
plants, and the absence of fleshy fruits and farina- 
ceous seeds, unfitted it to afford nutriment to animals ; 
and, monotonous in it& forms, and destitute of bril- 
liant coloring, its sward probably unenlivened by any 
of the smaller flowering herbs, its shades uncheered 
by the hum of insects, or the music of birds, it must 
have been a sombre scene to human visitants. But, 
neither man nor any other animal was then in 
existence to look for such uses or such beauties in 
this vegetation." 

Although this school of speculative philosophers 
admit that the fishes of the carboniferous era made 
advances to the lizard character, yet they think no 
land animal made its appearance until after that era 
had passed away ; and the atmosphere had been pre- 
pared for terrestial zoology, by some chemical process 
by which the superabundant carbonic acid gas was 
taken up and deposited in the limestones of that 
formation. 



GEOLOGY. 107 

The absence, or apparent absence, of land animals 
in that era, induced the belief that the atmosphere 
was not adapted to air-breathing animals. To prove 
this hypothesis, reference has been made to Sir Henry 
De la Eeche's estimate of the quantity of carbonic 
acid gas locked up in limestone. According to his 
calculation, each cubic yard of limestone contains 
10,000 cubic feet of carbonic acid gas. This gas was 
known to be injmuous to animal life, while it was 
believed that vegetables could flourish in an atmo- 
sphere containing much more than exists in the 
present combination. From these evidences it was 
easy to infer, that before and during the progress of 
the carboniferous formation, the atmosphere was 
unfit, from the superabundance of that gas, for the 
existence of air-breathing animals ; and, that it was 
not until after the carbonic acid gas of that period 
had been imprisoned in the limestone, that terrestrial 
zoology commenced. " There can be little doubt," 
they wrote, " that the infusion of a large dose of this 
gas into the atmosphere at the present day would be 
attended by precisely the same circumstances as in 
the time of the carboniferous formation. Land 
animal life would not have a place on earth ; vege- 
tation would be enormous ; and coal strata would be 
formed from the vast accumulation of woody matter, 
which would gather in every sea, near the mouths of 



108 NEW BED SANDSTONE. 

great rivers. On the exhaustion of the superabund- 
ance of carbonic acid gas, the coal formation would 
cease, and the earth might again become a suitable 
theatre of being for land animals." 

We will see hereafter how perfectly ridiculous this 
argument is ; and how wholly it is based on assump- 
tions. It w^U be found that large quantities of 
vegetable matter are now gathering " in every sea, at 
the mouths of great rivers," and that coal-beds are now 
in the j)rocess of formation, and ever have been ; and 
that future generations will find the same evidences, 
and will be equally warranted in coming to a similar 
oj^inion regarding this era. But, it will not be for- 
gotten that we are now giving the theory and the 
evidences on which it was based. 

In following these friends of development, we next 
find ourselves in the era of the new ked sandstone, 
with which they date, the beginning of terrestrial 
zoology. The second group of this series, is a lime- 
stone with an infusion of magnesia, in which, 
" zoophytes, conchifera, and a few tribes of fishes," 
appear, " with faint traces of land plants ; and a new 
and startling appearance, a reptile of Saurian (lizard) 
character." Next to this group is the muschelkalk, 
noted for the specimens of land animals, which the 
friends of development considered first in the fossil 
record. " They are of the vertebrate sub-kingdom, 



GEOLOGY. 109 

but of its lowest class, next after fishes — namely, 
reptiles," with imperfect respirator organs, allied to 
the crocodile and lizard tribes of the present day. 
Here also, are found ripple-marks, made by the 
receding tide, and perpetuated by the hardening of 
the stone ; and foot-marks of various land animals, 
and finally at Eun9on, near Manchester, and in 
other localities, the tracks of an animal supposed to 
have had the body of a reptile, and the beak and 
feet of a bird, " which had been a link between 
these two classes." The next step brings you to the 
Oolite, where you are introduced to the first, and as 
these theorists always begin the departments, to the 
lowest order of mammalia. Thus, step by stej), you 
are carried along by this theory, through the various 
grades of organic matter. Entering the lowest and 
most imperfect orders and families, they pass regularly 
through all the intermediate divisions to the upper 
geological groups, where the highest and most perfect 
types of vegetable and animal life a^^pear. Strange 
and beautiful, yet, imperfect and dangerous theory ; 
how many noble minds have stumbled over thee into 
the unknown future ! Wise in every thing but the 
one great essential — in that foolish. 

Enough has been said of the theory, to enable the 
general reader to comprehend the force of the entire 
argument ; and without following it through the sue- 



110 RECENT DISCOVEEIES. 

ceeding strata of the earth's crust, Tve will proceed to 
notice new discoveries which contradict the evidences 
on which the theory rests. And as we have followed 
the friends of development np through the various 
strata, beginning at the Silurian system, we will 
again return to that system ; and again follow the 
strata up in the same order. In this second journey, 
or new reading of the fossil record, we will follow the 
interpretation of Sir Charles Lyell, Hugh Miller, 
Prof. Agassiz, and others of like distinction. In 
their edition of the fossil history of our globe, all the 
recent discoveries are carefully noted. If the reader 
will go with us, we will compare the theory of 
development with this edition, and thus learn, if 
possible, how far they agree with each other. 



III. 



THE TRUE POSITION OF THE FOSSIL REMAINS. 

Sir Charles Lyell divides the Silurian system into 
two parts ; known as the upper and lower Silurian 
groups. These are again divided into the Wenlock 
and Ludlow formations in the upper ; and the Llan- 
deilo and Caradoc formations, in the lower Silurian 
group. These formations are found in the following 



GEOLOGY. Ill 

order — lirst and loTvest, the Llandeilo ; secondly, the 
Caradoc ; thn-dly, the Wenlock, and last and iipj)er- 
most, the Ludlow. At the base of the Silurian sys- 
tem, a dark-colored micacious grit is formed, which 
is now known as the " Llandeilo flags." This forma- 
tion contains large quantities of trilobites^ graptolites^ 
lingula and crystidioe. Of these the trilobite are the 
most interesting. They were extraordinary in their 
formation, and certainly, judging from the perfection 
of their eyes and other parts, they were not low in 
their order. The same genera are found in these 
several divisions ; with an increase of shells as you 
ascend. And as early as 1839, it was known that 
fossil fishes were to be found in the Ludlow group. 
Thus stood the fossil history of that system for m-any 
years ; but now it is entirely changed. Eecent dis- 
coveries have invested this group with infinitely more 
interest. 

In 1838, Sir Roderick Mm-chison found the Onclms 
Murcliisoni^ and Onckus tennistriatus^ the highest 
order of placoids, in the Llandeilo flags. This was 
the commencement of a series of discoveries in that 
system, both interesting and important. In 1843, 
Mr. Phillips found " innumerable small teeth and 
spines," just above the Aymestry limestone ; and in 
1845, '' a portion of a fish belonging to the cestaciont 
family of the placoid order," was found in the Wen- 



112 NEW YOEK SUKVET. 

lock limestone. While these discoveries were heinp' 
made in the old continent, the geologists of thi? 
conntrj were busily engaged in the same field. " A 
defensive spine of a placoid was found in the Onon- 
daga limestone of I^ew York," which occurs near the 
base of the upper Silurian system. But, before this 
last discovery, Mr. Hall, of the States' survey, found 
a fish-bone in the Oriskany limestone, which is much 
lower than the Onondaga limestone. In 1847, 
" defensive spines of fishes" were found in the 
Upper Llandeilo flag, by Sir Roderick Murchison ; 
and afterwards similar spines were found in the Bala 
limestone by the Government Survey. The Bala 
limestone is below the Lower Silurian group, in the 
Cambrian or older fossiliferous rocks. The Onchus, 
above referred to, has been found in both the Upper 
Ludlow rocks, and the Bala limestone ; yet they are 
separated from each other by thousands of feet, and 
must have required centuries for the deposit of the 
strata between them. The Onchus^ however, is as 
perfect in the Bala limestone, as it is in tlie Ludlow 
rocks. Prof. Agassiz found on comparison, that the 
sjpine of the Onchus which was found is more than 
twice as large as the sjpine of the dog-fish ; or that 
even of the Port Jackson shark. These early placoids 
were found to be larger than those of the present 
day. They were not mere abortions or pigmies, but 



GEOLOGY. 113 

true and noble vertebrata, of enormons proportions, 
armed with defensive spines, five times as large as 
the dog-fish of the present era; Adams at their 
birth, admitting of no improvement, and proving by 
comparison that none has ever taken place. 

So much for the Cambrian and Silurian systems, 
in which the friends of development found nothing 
but trilobites, mollusk, gasteropoda, and cephalopoda. 
It is true, they found annelides, the supposed link 
between the white-blooded worms and the humblest 
classes of vertebrata ; and a little higher up in the 
Ludlow rocks, they found a few very " small fishes 
of obscure character." It is well for the friends of 
development, that the Onchiis and the other placoids 
of that era of the world's history, are now unable to 
use their defensive spines, and that all redress for 
slander is " barred by the limitation of time." In 
either case they might suffer the just penalty of their 
wilful ignorance and malicious misrepresentations. 
It is now well settled, by authority of the highest 
character, that the placoids of the Silurian and 
Cambrian systems belong to the most perfect type 
of that division of the vertebrata. Professors Agassiz, 
Owen, and Sedgwick, Sir Phillip Egerton, and 
James Wilson, all agree in assigning them the high- 
est position. Their osseous skeletons, defensive 
spines, mouths, and brain, most clearly establish theii 



114 OLD EED SANDSTONE. 

claims, and prove that they were not "fishes of 
obscure character," but that they were representa- 
tives of the highest types of their class. 



IV. 



OLD RED SANDSTONE. 

In the Old Red Sandstone, the friends of develop- 
ment found a few fishes, but " they were manifestly 
of an inferior character to those which succeeded 
them." These manifestly inferior fishes were no 
other than the ganoids and j^lacoids of the Silurian 
and Cambrian systems. They reported them as 
inferior, with nothing but " a rudimental or carti- 
laginous skeleton ;" and approximating very nearly 
to the " form and armature of the crustaceons, an 
order of the next lower department of the animal 
kingdom." This is a mistake ; for the placoids had 
a real osseous skeleton, and other marks which in- 
duced the best naturalists and physiologists to place 
them among the most perfect of their order ; and 
superior to their kindred of the present day. But a 
more recent and thorough examination of the lower 
old red sandstone, has introduced other fishes of that 
system, equally interesting. If the fishes first dis- 
c<)vered in that era were of low order, and imperfect 



GEOLOGY. 115 

structure, recent discoveries x^rove that it was not 
owing to the strata in which they were iinhedclecl, or 
the age of the workl in which they flourished and 
decayed. Without attempting a further defence of 
of the much-abused ^^lacoids of the Silurian and 
Cambrian systems, we will at once present the defen- 
sive sjpine^ and other armor of the Asteeolopis, a 
native of the Old Eed Sandstone. 



V. 

ASTEEOLOPIS. 

For our knowledge of this extraordinary fish, we 
are indebted to Hugli Miller ; one of the most 
thorough and successful geologists of the present &?ij. 
His own career and enterprise, as interesting as the 
extraordinary fish which he has so fully described 
and illustrated ; and his fame as enduring as the 
fossils he has torn out of the strong leaves of the 
Orkneys ; or Stromness, which he has immortalized. 
In speaking of the Orkneys, he says ; " It is not too 
much to affirm, that in the comparatively small 
portion which this cluster of islands contains of the 
^Af/YZpart of a system regarded only a few years 
ago as the least fossiliferous in the geological scale, 
there are more fossil fishes enclosed than in every 



116 HUGH MILLEK. 

other geologic system in England, Scotland, and 
Wales, from the coal measure to the chalk inclnsive." 
Bnt of all this ichthyic collection, the Asterolojns is 
the most interesting. Yarions parts of its skeleton 
were found in the " three-barred pyramid of Strom- 
ness," in 184:8, by Mr. Miller, and in Cornwall in 
1850, by Mr. Peach. 

The first " well-marked bone," noticed by Hugh 
Miller, resembled a roofing-nail, about seven inches 
long. This length indicated a fish of enormous pro- 
portions. It was an object of much interest ; and the 
more so to Mr. Miller ; for previously in his work on 
the " Old Red Sandstone," he had represented that 
system as an age of dwarfs at the beginning, termi- 
nating at the top, with an age of giants. But he 
now for the first time discovered his error. Here, at 
the very base of that system, the remains of a fish 
of colossal proportions, greater than any he had 
before denominated giants, are formed, showing the 
danger of hasty conclusions based on limited observa- 
tion. It is well for science that we have such men as 
Hugh Miller ; men with moral com-age to correct an 
error whenever detected, regardless of theories or 
opinions ; who seek truth and truth only, and as 
fearlessly declare it. As long as the discoveries of 
science are transmitted to the public through such 
mediums, there need be no apprehension of impo 



GEOLOGY. 117 

sition and wrong. Such men are the true representa- 
tives of their age ; and heaven seems to have fitted 
them for their high and responsible offices. 

We have selected the Asterolopis, or star-scale, so 
called from its star-like markings, because it has 
been more fully examined, and is, perhaps, the best 
representative of its order. But let us first inquire 
into the errand divisions of the animal kinoxlom ; 
which we will find divided into four great depart- 
ments ; and these again into classes, which are 
divided into orders ; and these are again divided 
into families, &c., &c. The first department, that of 
the vertebrates, is divided into four classes; first. 
Mammalia ; second. Birds ; third. Reptiles ; and 
fourth, Fishes. The class of fishes is divided into 
the ganoids, the first order; having large, bony, 
enamelled scales, and osseous skeletons ; secondly, 
the placoids ; thirdly, ctenoids ; and, fourthly, cy- 
cloids. It will be seen on examination, that these 
orders are each distinctly marked by peculiarities, 
which enable the naturalist to arrange the exhumed 
remains without any difficulty. The Asterolopis has 
all the marks of the ganoid, and is therefore placed 
in that order. It is in the highest order of its class, 
and we think it is entitled to the highest place in its 
order. But what are the facts on which this opinion 
is based. 

6 



lis 



CRANIAL ErCKLZE. 



The Asterolopis was covered with true osseous 
scales, and well biipplied with free and protected gills. 
Its head was covered with an osseous plate, which 
constituted a Cranial buckler, in some cases large 
enough for a shield. The nail-like bone found by 
^.Ir. Miller, measured five and a half inches, and must 
liave belonged to a buckler more than eighteen inches 
in length ; and it is believed that the Asterolopis to 
which it belonged was at least nine feet long. These 
are the conclusions at which ]\Ir. ]V[iUer arrives, after 
much and patient investigation. Other Cranial 
Bucklers show that still larger ganoids existed during 
that period. Fish at least twelve feet long, with all 
the marks of their high order. '* Thus,*' says ECugh 
]^Iiller, •• in the not unimportant cii'cumstance of size, 
the most ancient Ganoids yet known, instead of 
taking theii' places agreeably to the demands of the 
development hypothesis, among the sprats, stickle- 
backs, and minnows of then* class, took their place 
among its huge basking sharks, gigantic stm'geons, 
and bulky sword-fishes. They were giants, not dwarfs." 
Again, the same author says : — *• In Cranial buck- 
lers in which the average thickness of the plates does not 
exceed three eigidh parts of an inch, their thickness in 
the centre of the ridges must have been three quarters. 
The head of the largest crocodile <:>f the existmg 
period is defended by an armature greatly less strong 



GEOLOGY. 119 

than that worn l»y the Asterolopis of the Lower Old 
Eed Sandstone. Why this ancient Ganoid shonld 
have heen so ponderonslj helmed we can hut donht- 
fiilly giiess : we c^nlv know, that when nature arms 
her soldiery, there are assaOants to be resisted and a 
state of war to be maintained.'' 

The Asterolopis was supplied with sharp teeth, and 
powerfol jaws with two sharp cnttiog edges ; thns 
approaching the character of the reptile, Thi? rep- 
tilian cast, together with the twisted or spiral cop- 
rolites found so abundantly, induced the belief that it 
was camiTorous in its habits. Many other lx>nes 
belonging to different parts of the Asterolopis, have 
been found ; such as the maxillary bone, the hyoid 
bone ; the coracoid and dermal bones ; the Ischium, 
Rays, and iriteni<d bones of various f<;»rms and sizes. 
These prove the osseous character of its skeleton 
beyond a doubt. It was at first inferred frc-m the 
supposed covering or scales of the Astei*olopis, that 
these early Ganoids had cartilaginous, and not 
osseous skeletons, and therefore, of an inferior order. 

The learned Prof. Agassiz is quoted as authority 
for this position, but we think very unjustly. This 
we assert has not been the opinion of any eminent 
naturalist since the discovery of the specimens alluded 
to. '' This fish," to sj)e.ak in the technical language 
oi Agassiz, ^* undoubtedly belonsrs to the Cesti-aciont 



120 EVIDEXCE OF RAX'K. 

family of the Placoicl order, — proving to demonstra- 
tion that the oldest known fossil fish belongs to the 
highest type of that division of the vertebrata." This 
was the language held by a learned reviewer, when 
speaking of the Asterolopis. Certainly, if it was the 
highest type of its division, it had. not a cartilagenons 
skeleton ; bnt on this point there a23pears to be no 
dispute at 23resent. Instead of approximating to the 
form and armature of the crnstacians, as the develop- 
ment theory required, their whole structure indicated 
an a2D23roximation rather to the reptile. 

But as Mr. ]\Iiller very justly remarks, rank 
depends on Iraiii and not lone. If lone^ indeed, was 
the evidence of advancement, the animals of the 
present era would prove to be below and not above 
their ancient or early progenitors ; for there are none 
which will bear a comparison in size or osseous struc- 
tm"e to the huge monsters of the tertiary period. By 
this standard man himself would dwindle down into 
a secondary position. This is not true, however ; it 
is the brain that distinguishes the true superiority ; 
and it is by this that development should be measured 
and orders arranged. By this standard, which un- 
doubtedly is the only true one, the Placoids and 
Ganoids of the Lower Silurian and Camluian, and 
the Old Bed Sandstone systems, take tlieir places 
high up in the scale of ichthyic existence. Xot at 



GEOLOGY. 121 

the foot of the list of fishes, but at the head ; real 
giants, constituting the highest and best specimens in 
their order. 

Before leaving this system we must beg our readers 
to remember that we have not referred to all the 
witnesses of this vast field. The Asterolopis is not 
the only large and well developed fish whose history 
has been written on the rock-book of that era. There 
are many, to use the language of Mr. Miller, this 
series " could supply with iclithyolites, by the ton and 
the ship load the museums of the world." A few 
only, of the many witnesses, have been interrogated, 
but these, we think, fully contradict the idea of 
Development. 

But, these fish, however perfect, are not the only 
vertebrata of this group. In 1849, " a double row of 
impressions, bearing a considerable analogy to tne 
European cheirotherium, was announced as having 
been detected by Mr. Isaac Lea, in the Old Eed 
Sandstone at Pottsville, near Philadelphia, in the 
gorge of the Alleghany hills, where the Schuylkill 
breaks through the Sharp Mountain. These foot- 
prints occur on a ripple-marked sandstone, and are 
each about four inches long, and four broad. The 
animal appears to have had five toes, some of which 
exhibit unguinal appendages. The geological posi- 
tion of the bed is well determined, and the oveHying 



122 reptilia:n foot-makks. 

coal formation contains the usual characteristic plants." 
Snch is Sir Charles LyelPs report of the reptilian foot- 
marks of that era,' based on the authority of the 
ninth volume, January number, 1850, — of the Scien- 
tific Journal of our distinguished fellow-citizen. Prof. 
B. Silliman. Thus, at this late period it is first 
ascertained that air-breathing animals, — that reptilian 
monsters, began their existence at . and before that 
early, period of the world's history. 

The discovery of these foot-marks was considered 
of the greatest importance. So much so, that Prof. 
H. D. Pogers at once proceeded to the place where 
they were found, in order to gratify himself by a 
personal inspection. He concluded after much exa- 
mination, that they were not in the Old Ped Sand- 
stone system, but in the lowest part of the coal 
formation, or carboniferous system. On this point, 
therefore, there is some contrariety of opinion. But if 
these foot-marks are not in the Old Ped Sandstone^ 
there can be no doubt that they exist in the dividing 
strata of the two systems, and ages before the great 
mass of the carboniferous group was deposited. 



GEOLOGY. 123 

VI. 

CAEBOXTFEEOrS EEA. 

In our remarks on this group, we shall be governed 
almost entirely by Sir Charles Lyell; than whom, 
no man is more reliable. In treating of this series, 
he observes the divisions usually made by geologists : 
" 1st. That known as the coal-measure, of mixed fresh 
water, terrestrial, and marine origin. 2d. That which 
in England is called the mountain or Carboniferous 
limestone, of purely marine origin, containing corals, 
shells, iishes, &c." These divisions are not only 
different in their origin, but as a consequence, they 
are also different in their fossil histoiy. By referring 
to our preceding synopsis of the reading of this forma- 
tion, by the friends of develojmient, it will be seen 
that they failed to Und. any thing more advanced than 
vegetables of the simplest character ; and the lower 
genera of crustaceans and mollusks. 

Over five hundred species of plants have been 
fomid in this group. Of these, the ferns are most 
like existing species. But, although many of the 
carboniferous j^lants, indeed, a large majority, ai'e 
now extinct, they have left a perpetual record of their 
size and character. The botanical families are all 



124 MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 

represented, from the Crvptogamic or lowest, to the 
highest in the vegetable kingdom. The Sigillaria^ 
are amon^; the most interestino- forms. About thirty- 
live species of this genus have been found. Thej 
grow to an enormous size. Some of the fossil trunks 
measure between sixty and seventy feet in length ; 
and from one to five feet in diameter ; while their 
fossil roots prove that they must have spread in the 
earth from sixteen to twenty feet. These certainly 
were not pigmies. Their size and texture unite to 
show that they belonged to the highest and best 
developed family of the first order. Five genera 
of Dicotjiedons ; embracing Pines, Firs, &c., have 
also been found ; and last, but not least important, 
several families of Monocotyledons, have been found 
associated with their more humble relatives. 

Thus it is seen, that this era was not without 
flowers and fruits, and farinaceous seeds. Most of the 
Monocotyledons which have been found, were fruit- 
bearing trees. The forests of that early period must 
have been abundantly supplied with fruits and fra- 
grant with flowers ; nor could it have been without 
the hum of insects, and the music of birds. It con- 
tains evidences almost beyond the possibility of doubt, 
that its w^ild and luxuriant woodlands were redolent 
with the blossoms of productive vegetation ; and 
vocal with the music of a well-appointed choir. It 



GEOLOGY. 125 

is possible that man did not then exist ; but the little 
feathered songster sung no less sweetly. The morn- 
ing breeze caught up its grateful notes and bore them 
to a holier ear than his. In the unbroken quiet of 
those sylvan solitudes, there may hare been no think- 
ing, rejoicing, or sorrowing human heart, Avith the 
quick throbbings of anguish or delight ; yet in 
nature's great cathedral, God's humbler creatures 
offered up their low perpetual hymn. 

" True exogenous trees existed in great numbers 
and of vast size," says Hugh Miller, after having 
examined the coal-fields with the greatest care. In 
speaking of the Dalkeith and Falkirk coal-fields, he 
says : " I can scarce take up a piece of coal from 
beside my study-fire, without detecting in it fragments 
of carbonized wood, which almost always exhibit the 
characteristic longitudinal fibres, and not unfre- 
quently the medullary rays." Among the fossils of 
this group large araucarians and pines are abundant. 
But, below this system, ferns have been found. A 
fine specimen found in the lower old Eed Sandstone, 
is figured by Hugh Miller, in his "Footprints;" 
with another fossil lignite, belonging to the same 
system, which bears all the marks of a true Dicoty- 
ledonous plant. In many localities marine plants 
only are found, but this is not at all wonderful. It 

will be recollected that the carboniferous era is 
6* 



126 rOEMA^TIONS IN ENGLAND. 

divided into what are called fresh, water and marine 
formations. In the fresh-water division, land plants 
are found belonging to almost every family ; hut in 
the marine division the higher orders are not found, 
and the reason is obvious. 

This difference is natural, and depends upon the 
locality, and not upon the relative ages of the vegeta- 
ble groups. The same distinctions exist at the pre- 
sent time. The sea has its lichens, mosses, &c., and 
the dry land has its pines, oaks, &c. In some of the 
south-eastern counties of England, there are, first, a 
layer of marine origin, with all the fossils belonging 
to such a formation ; next above, there are three 
fresh-water formations ; each bearing the fossil marks 
of their origin ; and then above these there is another 
marine formation, with fossils similar to those in its 
kindred strata far down below. This arrangenient 
very clearly illustrates the cause of the difference 
between the fossils in the two divisions of the car- 
boniferous group. 

But this, it will be remembered, is precisely the 
position assumed by the friends of development. 
They contend that the surface of our planet was, in 
an earl}^ period, covered with water or an ocean ; and 
that that period is marked by the humblest types of 
vegetable life. This state of the vegetable world 
continued until dry-land appeared, when terrestrial 



GEOLOGY. 127 

or land plants first made their apjDearance. If this 
were admitted as a fact, it would not prove a trans- 
mutation ol species, but only that land vegetation, 
which is entirely different from marine, did not 
exist in the ocean or in the marine era. They are 
different in their organization, distinct in theii' 
character, and therefore require different and distinct 
conditions for their development or growth. This 
was then, is now, and always must be true. 

The preponderance of certain families proves that 
they resisted the changes to which they were exposed 
better than other families which passed away without 
leaving any fossil record. The resisting power of 
vegetables is different in different families. This 
was proved by experiment made by Dr. Lindley. 
He threw one hundred and seventy plants into a 
vessel containing fresh water. This number included 
or embraced all the families of which the coal 
measures seem to consist, and some others which 
might be supposed to have co-existed with them. In 
the course of two years one hundred and twenty-one 
species had disappeared, having entirely decomposed. 
Of those which remained, the most perfect were 
species of the coniferoe.^ ferns, palms, Sycoj)odiacece^ 
and their kindred of similar character. These, it 
will not be forgotten, are analogous to the plants of 
the coal measm-es. It appears from this, that the 



128 PREDOMINANCE OF FAMILIES. 

vegetables composing the great bodj of the coal 
formations, are snch, as were able longest to resist the 
decomposing agencies. Other families existed, but 
they passed away without leaving any registry of 
their growth and decay. In this way the pre- 
dominance of families may be accounted for. But 
there may have been other causes for it. That the 
coal-beds were formed from a deposit of accumulated 
vea'etable matter at the mouths of rivers and in 
estuaries, there can be no doubt. In this way large 
quantities of vegetable matter are now annually 
deposited at the mouths of our rivers, where they are 
covered up with sand and mud, thus forming regular 
layers. 

The banks of the Mississippi and of almost all its 
contributaries, are lined with what the citizens call 
"cotton- wood." This tree is one of very rapid 
growth, confined chiefly to low and wet places. 
Every change of the stream or bed of the river, and 
these changes are frequent in southern rivers, necessa- 
rily sweeps away a larger or smaller quantity of these 
trees. These are carried down to the mouth of the 
great outlet, and there deposited together. In this 
process other trees are collected and deposited, but 
the great body of the future coal-bed, is necessarily 
composed of " cotton- wood." If in the far-off future 
this bed is turned up for the accommodation and 



GEOLOGY. 129 

comfort of man, either gracluallj or "by some sudden 
violence, it may then be inferred from the -pve- 
dominance of "cotton-wood," that that family was 
the ruling one of the j^resent era ; and that the 
atmosphere was especially adapted 'to the growth of 
that tree ; whereas, in fact, it is an insignificant tree, 
confined almost entirely to the sand-banks and newly 
made deposits, on the shores of the rivers in the 
southern section of our country. 

It may also be inferred from the immense deposit 
of vegetable matter, that this era was one in which 
the vegetable creation predominated ; just as it is 
now inferred from the coal beds, formed in the same 
manner, that the era of their formation was uncheered 
by terrestrial zoology. And if there should be large 
quantities of limestone found in that formation, as 
there is now in the coal era, it will also be inferred, 
that the great abundance of vegetable matter resulted 
from the peculiar constitution of the atmosphere, 
which favored vegetable, but retarded animal de- 
velopment ; unless they should be fortunate enough 
to discover the human remains in the limestone 
which is now in the process of formation on the 
northwest coast of Gaudaloupe, at St. Domingo, and 
other localities in the West Indian Ai'chipelago. A 
discovery of that kind would destroy the theory, just 
as the discovery of fossil reptiles and birds in the 



130 EACn DAT ADDS TO THE PEOOF. 

carboniferous era. has destrored similar a^'giiments 
and speculations, concerning it. Hereafter it niav 
be inferred, from the hnman remains fomid in the 
limestone, of which we have spoken, that this era was 
best adapted to the develoj^ment of man ; while the 
vast deposit of vegetable matter in the Mississippi, 
and other places, will lead to an opinion directly 
opposite. These conti-adictions, however, will not be 
greater than the contradictions, found in and based 
npon, the cai'boniferons era. 

It mnst be borne in mind, that the entire fossil 
hist<:»ry of the earth's crust is not known. A few 
detached leaves only have been torn out of the vast 
book : and these are as yet but imperfectly trans- 
lated : the remainder is sealed even to the eye of 
science. Every advancing step of the geologist, and 
each succeeding stroke <jf the pickaxe, brings some 
new fossil to light. Ap)pearances and evidences 
which waiTanted an opinion yesterday, are contra- 
dicted by the discoveries of to-day. But each newly- 
intrr-duced witness contributes something to the 
argument f jr fcs"al cafse. And thus it must ever 
be. It will be found, as science rolls back the 
vapory cloud of the far-off heavens, that other planets 
and planetaiy systems lie hid within their sombre 
shadows, and that other wonders, more astonishing 
and mvstei'ious than anv vet discovered, are buried 



GEOLOGY. 131 

ill the bosom of the outward darkness ; it will be 
focnd also, that each stone turned up bv the sti'ong 
ann of the miner, or the ingenious hand of the 
geologist, will expose new and perhaps more interest- 
ing pages of the fossil history of creation. 



vn. 



THE F AITS' A OF THE CARBO^"^FEEO^S EEA. 

Dismissing the flora of this era, which wc have 
seen, fails to support the idea of development, we 
will now tmTL to its fossil fauna. Yast forests had 
been discovered in various places, before the remains 
of any air-breathing animal were found. Indeed, it 
was not until ISM that the tiiie reptilian and bird 
were discovered in the carboniferous sti*ata. Fishes 
of the highest order had been found in great abun- 
dance, but nothing above them in the scale of animal 
existence. This was a matter of profound astonish- 
ment to many experienced geologists. Is it possible, 
they inqnii'ed, that no land animal inhabited the 
luxuriant forests which overshadowed the mighty 
streams of that era ? There was, undoubtedly, dry 
land : this fact is estiiblished bv the veo:etation. 
TVIiat was it, then, that prevented the commence- 
ment of terresti'ial zoology ? And thus the questions 



132 CARBONIC ACID GA«. 

increased. Finally, the friends of development 
attempted to account for the apparent absence, by 
supposing the atm.os]3here of that period to have been 
imfit for air-breathing animals, from the large quan- 
tity of carbonic acid gas -which it contained. The 
carboniferous formation occupied a middle position ; 
and according to the theory of development, imme- 
diately preceded the introduction of land animals. 
In fact, the friends of that theory make it necessary 
to their introduction. 

The existence of the superabundance of carbonic 
acid gas is inferred from the luxuriant vegetation of 
that era ; and from the limestone which constitutes so 
large a portion of that formation, and from which it 
derives its name. It is contended that the vegetable 
kingdom would not only live, but thrive better in an 
atmosphere charged with a much larger portion of 
carbonic acid gas than exists in the present aerial 
envelope of our globe. But this is very doubtful. 
" The evidence upon these points is by no means 
satisfactory," says Robert Hunt, an accomplished 
chemist of large experience ; " and although at one 
time quite disposed to acquiesce in a conjecture 
which appears to account so beautifully for the 
observed geological phenomena of carboniferous 
])eriods, we do not regard the necessities for such a 
condition of the atmosphere as clearly made out." 



GEOLOGY. 133 

Experiments are now being made bj Dr. Daubeny 
and Mr. Hnnt, at the request of the British Associa- 
tion, to test the ability of j^hxnts to receive or repel 
this gas. Dr. Daubeny is already satisfied that ten 
per cent, would have been destructive to the ^^lants of 
the coal formation. ; and it is doubted by both of 
these distino-uished men, whether ves^etation would 
be at all benefited by an increase of that gas over 
the present proportion. The luxuriant vegetation of 
that era must have depended on some other cause 
than this. Again, it was inferred from the quantity 
of limestone, that the superabundant gas was taken 
up and deposited in them; and that it was in this 
way that the atmosphere wa« prepared for the intro- 
duction of air-breathino; animals. We think this 
inference about as groundless as the preceding, 
which experiment has proven wholly so. 

But, leaving these speculations to those who con- 
sider them more important, we proceed to the exa- 
mination of the reptilian fossil record. In 184-4, a 
true reptile w^as found in Rhenish Bavaria by H. 
Yon Meyer ; and in 184T, three skeletons of similar 
air-breathing reptiles were found b}^ Professor Yon 
Dechen, in the coal-field of Saarbruch. Of these, 
the skulls, teeth, &c., with a large part of the skin, 
have been preserved in the centre of spheroidal con- 
cretions of clay iron-stone. About the same time 



134 FOOT-MARKS IN PENNSYLA'ANIA. 

that tlie Bavarian skeleton was found, tlie footprints 
of reptiles were discovered and described bv Dr. 
King of Pennsylvania. These were found in tlie 
Greensburg coal in Westmoreland countj. These 
foot prints were examined bj Sir Charles Lyell, in 
184:6, when he wrote as follows : — " I was at once 
convinced of their genuineness, and declared mj 
conviction on that point, on which doubts had been 
entertained both in Europe and the United States. 
The foot-marks were first observed standing out in 
relief from the lower surface of slabs of sandstone, 
resting on their layers of fine unctuous clay." 

" Xo less than twenty-three footsteps, w^ere observed 
by Dr. King in the same quarry before it was aban- 
doned, the greater part of them so arranged on the 
surface of one stratum as to imply that they were 
made successively by the same animal. Everywhere 
there was a double row of tracks, and in each row 
they occur in pairs, each pair consisting of a hind 
and fore foot, and each at nearly equal distances 
from the next pair. We may assume that the rep- 
tile which left thes6 prints on the ancient sands of 
the coal-measures was an air-breathing animal, be- 
cause its weight would not have been sufficient under 
water to have made impressions so deep and distinct. 
The same conclusion is also borne out by the casts of 
the cracks in the cla3", which in some instances 



GEOLOGY. 135 

divide the track or footprint; for these cracks show 
til at the clay had been exposed to the air and sun, so 
as to have dried and shrunk." 

"The geological position of the sandstone of Greens- 
burg is perfectly clear, being situated in the midst of 
tlie Appalachian coal-field, having the main bed of 
coal, called the Pittsburg seam, one hundred feet above 
it,while many of the characteristic carboniferous plants 
are found both above and below the level of the rep- 
tilian footsteps. " Analogous footprints of a large re]^- 
tile of still older date have since been found (1849,) by 
Mr. Isaac Lea, in the low^est beds of the coal formation, 
at Pottsville, near Philadelphia ; so that we may now 
be said to have the foot-marks of two reptilians of the 
coal period, and the skeletons of four." The location 
of these footprints has been assigned to the Old Bed 
Sandstone by many geologists ; but Mr. H. D. 
Rogers, who perhaps is the best authority on the sub- 
ject, thinks the stone in which they are found, 
belongs to the lowest strata of the carboniferous 
formation. " After such unexpected discoveries," 
says Sir Charles Lyell, " we shall do well to be on 
our guard against the presumption of taking for 
f>;ranted, that our present knowledge of the earliest 
occurrence of a particular class of fossils in stratified 
•ocks, can be reasoned upon as if it afibrded a true 
mdi'ation of the first appearance of a particular class 



136 FOSSIL BIEDS. 

of beino-s on the o-lobe. We must not even feel too 
confident, that some mammalia may not have co- 
existed witli tlie European Sanrians of Saarbruck, or 
Avith the xlmerlcan Cheirotherium of Greensburg." 

The existence of reptiles during that period, is no 
longer a question for scientific investigatio]i. But it 
is still questionable whether a true fossil bird has 
been found so low down as the carboniferous era. 
Their remains are rare even in tertiary deposits, and 
for obvious reasons ; they are enabled to avoid casu- 
alties by flight ; and if they fall or are throwii into 
the water, their tubular bones and feathers float 
them on the surface of the stream until they decay or 
are destroyed by animals. These facts have pre- 
vented them from leaving their history in the records 
of the stone book. Eut like the reptiles we have just 
described, many of them have left their foot-marks 
on the margins of those ancient seas and rivers ; and 
in this way their history has been perpetuated. They 
were neither scholars nor engravers, yet they have 
written the evidence of their existence on the solid, 
rocks of the earth. These foot-marks have been found 
in the strata between the lias and coal ; and in a 
few places immediately above, if not in the coal- 
measures. 

Foot-marks of a great variety of species, including 
all sizes, from the plover to that of a bird which must 



GEOLOGY. 137 

have been considerably larger than the ostrich, have 
been found by Professor Hitchcock, in the Yalley 
of the Connecticut, in the 'New Red Sandstone of 
that district. These foot-marks are found in a strata 
which Sir Charles Lyell thinks is older than the coal- 
bed near Richmond, Yirginia. This, although it 
does not prove the existence of birds during the car- 
boniferous era, proves that they had an existence 
before and at the time a large coal deposit was being 
made within a short distance of them ; and therefore, 
that it was not necessary that the atmosphere should 
contain an unusual quantity of carbonic acid gas in 
order to secure such deposits ; for with it, these air- 
breathing birds must have expired : and it is not 
possible that the atmosphere of Richmond was at any 
time different from that of Connecticut. We admit 
that there is considerable difference between the pre- 
sent inhabitants of those localities ; but it is more 
the effect of education than of atmospheric causes ; 
and it is equally true that they both claim the ad- 
vantage. 

If there were no birds during the carboniferous 
era, it was not owing to the atmosphere ; for there 
were true air-breathing animals. But we think the 
evidences quite sufficient to warrant the assertion, 
that there were birds then as now, and that future 
discoveries will prove the fact. Before leaving this 



138 PROVIDENTIAL AVISDOM AlsB GOODNESS. 

interesting formation for the New Red Sandstone, 
which rises before ns, we stop to acknowledge the 
WISDOM that foretold the necessity, and the goodness 
that snpplied the materials, and deposited the coal 
beds, for the present and future use of man. It is 
but one link in that mighty system of provision for 
the comfort, happiness, and continuation, of the 
human species ; and although a single and simple 
link, it is one of the greatest importance. 

Without this deposit, the shivering nakedness of 
indolence and poverty would be greatly increased, 
and the iron fino^ers of our ino^enious machinerv 
would cease their labor. The winds would resume 
their former control of our commercial intercourse, 
and the greatest improvements of civilization be par- 
tially, if not wholly defeated. We think no one can 
reflect on the importance of the coal series, without 
feeling that the want of it was foreseen by the 
Infinite Eye, that looked through the eternity to 
come as through the eternity j)ast ; and without 
believing that it was expressly designed to supply the 
wants, and secure the improvements which were 
written on the character of man. 



GEOLOGY. 139 

VIIL 

THE NEW BED SANDSTONE. 

In quitting the Carboniferous formation, the friends 
of the development theory enter the field of the ]^ew 
Ked Sandstone ; taking no notice of the Permian 
group ; or rather making no distinction between 
these two groups. The latter, however, is unlike the 
former, and approaches more nearly the character of 
the carboniferous series. It is composed almost 
entirely of limestones of different character. It con- 
tains shells in great abundance; fossil plants of 
an advanced character ; like, and in some cases iden- 
tical with those of the carboniferous flora. Fishes are 
also found, and many of them are of the most 
advanced types. But this group, which it Avill be 
remembered is scarcely distinguishable from the car- 
boniferous, contains remains more interesting than its 
fossil fish. In some localities there is a conglomerate 
of breccia, resting directly on the coal deposits, in 
which the teeth of Saurians and fractured bones are 
found. From these it appears, that the reptiles to 
which they belonged were " allied to the living 
monitor; and their appearance in a primary or 
paleozoic formation, observes Mr. Owen, is opposed to 



14-0 THE SUPPOSED LINK. 

the doctrine of the progressive development of rep- 
tiles from fish, or from simpler to more complex 
forms; for if they existed at the present day, these 
monitors would take rank at the head of the Lacer 
tian order." 

Thus, we find, that each group contributes some- 
thing of importance in contradicting the idea of 
development. The I^ew Red Sandstone, which is 
next in order, is not an exception. According to the 
theory so frequently referred to, nothing but " the 
lowest class of the vertebrate sub-kingdom" was 
found in this group, until an animal was discovered 
at Euncon, near Manchester, which had the body of 
a reptile, and the beak and feet of a bird ; thus prov- 
ing, as they supposed, that it had been a link between 
the two classes. It is necessary only to refer to our 
previous remarks on the footprints of birds, found by 
Professor Hitchcock in this group, in the valley of 
the Connecticut river. These and others of a similar 
character were found in the lowest strata of that for- 
mation, and prove very clearly that the supposed 
link was not necessary, and, therefore, that it had no 
real existence. 

It would be useless to follow the footsteps of these 
theorists any further. We have seen enough to satisfy 
any impartial mind, of the perfect absurdity and 
foolishness of their conclusions, as well as the want 



GEOLOGY. 141 

of correctness in tlie data on which they rest their 
theory. Reptilian footprints have been found in 
the 'New Eed, Permian, Carboniferous, and Old 
Red Sandstone systems ; while the skeletons of 
highly organized fish have been found in the Silurian 
group below. The highest class of animals, the ver- 
tebrate, is represented in the oldest fossiliferous 
strata. There are no birds and quadrupeds to be 
found in the ancient beds ; but this is because they 
were chiefly marine deposits ; and in such these 
remains are seldom found. 

But, it has been said that the fossils of those 
ancient formations represent plants and animals, as a 
general thing, very diiferent from those of the present 
day. And, as their particular forms and genera can- 
not be found at this time, it is inferred that they 
were changed into new forms and families which 
transmitted their new character to succeedino- o;ene- 
rations ; in other words, that transmutation of species 
was common, nay, that it was the law of their ex- 
istence, and their unavoidable and necessary end. 
But this is not a legitimate conclusion or inference. 
Species are dying out at the present time, and it may 
liave been the course at that early period. It is thus 
with the Dodo, a remarkable bird which was found 
on the small islands of Bourbon, Mauritius, &c., near 

the coast of South Africa ; and the Nestor prodxtxitus^ 

1 



142 INDIAN TEIBES. 

a species of parrot peculiar to Pliilip's Island ; and 
tlie Apteryex, and other birds of 'Ne^Y Zealand. 
These birds are all djing out, jet there is no proof 
that any of them have perished by what is called a 
catastrophe. They have wasted gradually away, one 
by one, as the Bison is now disappearing from the 
earth. 

Circumstances operate to change or entirely destroy 
different families or species. Animals, like plants, 
are so constituted that they can bear change to a 
certain j)oint and no farther ; anything beyond will 
either injure or entirely destroy them. This is true 
also of man. He is not exempt from the common 
laws of life. The Indians of this country are rapidly 
dying out, if such language should be applied to a 
naturally noble, but unfortunate and badly-treated 
people. In a few brief years some of the tribes Avill 
have disappeared. The last of the Miamies, Potto- 
watomies, Cherokees, and many other tribes will soon 
be left to mourn the dej^arted greatness of their 
fallen peoj)le in silent and bitter solitude. Years, 
nay, centuries, may pass away before this sad event, 
yet sooner or later it must come. Extinction is 
written on these tribes as certainly as death is upon 
the different members. A different course of treat- 
ment might possibly avert it for a time, how long can- 
not 1)6 foretold ; but the voice of their sufferings, and 



GEOLOGY. 143 

the eloquence of their silence, have not yet been able 
to effect that change, and may not. 

These clianges of species are natural, so far as they 
are in fact changes ; they are not, however, of the 
character represented. There is no change from one 
to the other — no transmutation of species. Time 
produces changes, but these are effected by the ex- 
tinction of one, and the creation of a different one. 
And by removing species from one locality to 
another, which is sometimes demanded by change of 
climate. 

It appears from the review we have taken of this 
subject, that the geological history of the earth's 
crust does not sustain the idea of a regular advance 
from tlie lowest or simplest, to the highest forms of 
vegetable and animal organization; but, that it 
proves the contrary to be true. Among the earliest 
inhabitants of the world, animals of the first depart- 
ment, and of a high organization, differing in almost 
every particular from the structure of their more 
humble associates, are found ; and not unfrequently 
the highest and most perfect remains appear first in 
the singular record of their history. Professor Ov/en 
and other distinguished authorities, say that the 
general structure of the advanced order of fishes, 
upon which the trans mutationists engra-^f. the simplest 
forms of reptiles, utterly forbids the idea of the least 



144 PKOFES^^R AGASSIZ. 

possible connection between them. But, if the fossil re- 
cord clearly established a regnlar advance of animal and 
vegetable forms, from the lowest to the highest strata 
of the earth, it would not prove the theory in question ; 
but only, that each succeeding generation was more 
perfect than the former. The distinguished professor 
just referred to, in writing on the subject, expressed 
tlio opinion that, the different species in their pro- 
gi'essive development would maintain their typical 
character; and that if any improvement did take 
place, it would not result in the least change of form 
or character. 

This is the opinion of nearly all of our distinguished 
^Naturalists and Philosophers, and we think the only 
reasonable view of the subject. A change is not an 
improvement. While advantageous or disadvan- 
tageous circumstances, may improve or injure the 
organs separately, the nature, form, and charac- 
ter of the plant or the animal, must always remain 
the same. Professor Agassiz, after being engaged 
for many years in the observation of fossils, saj^s that 
he cannot admit the transmutation of S23ecies. Again 
he says, there is a freedom in the development of 
animate matter, in which the action of an intelligent 
and omnipresent Creator may be seen. 

In the professor's lectures on Embriology, before 
the Lowell Institute in Boston, he used the most dis- 



GEOLOGY. 145 

tinct and satisfactory language on this subject " It 
lias been long and generally asserted," be says, 
" especially by tbe pbysi-philosopliers, tbat the lower 
animals were first introduced upon our globe, an4 
formed alone the population of the earliest periods in 
past-time ; that Polypi existed before Mollusks ; 
these before the Articulata ; and that Yertebrata 
were the last to make their appearance. But the dis- 
coveries in fossil ichthyology which it has been my 
good fortune to describe in my researches upon fossil 
fishes, have shown that vertebrated animals — fishes — 
have existed in the oldest epochs, and that such an 
order of succession as mentioned before, did not agree 
with the plan of creation. Indeed, that representa- 
tions of all the four great divisions of the animal 
kingdom, Articulata, Mollusca, Eadiata, occur simul- 
taneously with fishes, in all the lowest geological 
formations, was soon ascertained by the investigations 
of paleontologists, and that the fact of any regular 
succession was afterwards altoo-ether denied. How- 
ever, the simultaneous occurrence of the four great 
types does not indicate the w^ant of regularity in the 
development of the various classes of the animal 
kingdon, taken isolately." 

Miiller, the distinguished German physiologist, 
.says that the species were created, originally, distinct, 
and that there is not even a remote possibility that 



U6 

one species has been produced from another. Baron 
Cuvier bore the same testimony, and he denounced 
the theory of develoj)ment as chimerical, and as re- 
nounced by philosophy. To this authority we might 
add that of Murchison, Yemuel, D'Orbigny, Miller, 
and Lyell. and many others of equal weight ; but the 
facts speak louder than these. Mr. Charles Bel], one 
of the greatest men England ever produced, whose 
large experience enabled him to speak in the most 
positive terms, wrote as follows : — " It is above all 
surprising with what perverse ingenuity men seek to 
obscure the conception of a Divine Author, an intel- 
ligent, designing, and benevolent Being — ^I'ather 
clinging to the greatest absurdities, or interposing 
the cold and inanimate influence of the mere ele- 
ments, in a manner to extino'uish all feelino- of de- 
pendence in our minds, and all emotions of grati- 
tude." In another place, the same distinguished 
author says : " It must now be apparent that nothing 
less than the Power which originally created, is equal 
to the office of effecting those changes on animals, by 
which they are adapted to their conditions; that 
their organization is predetermined, and not conse- 
quent on the condition of the earth, or the surround- 
ing elements. Everything declares that the species 
took their origin in a distinct creation, and not in a 
gradual variation from some original type ; and any 



GEOLOGY. 147 

other hypothesis than that of a new creation of ani- 
mals snited to the successive changes in the organic 
matter of the globe — in the condition of the water, 
atmosphere, and temperature — brings with it only an 
accumulation of difficulties." To the weight of such 
authority, it would be useless to add the testimony of 
others less distinguished, but not less sincere and 
positive. 

With these historical facts, together with the testi- 
mony of the distinguished savans referred to, we will 
leave this branch of our subject ; which, if not as 
attractive as the astronomical part, is not less inter- 
esting and importpmt. The one excites our pro- 
foundest astonishment, and leaves us gazing with 
bewildered look up into the boundless and the infi- 
nite, in which the planets hold their orbits, and exer- 
cise their varied influences ; while the other fixes the 
mind upon the revelations of the earth's mysterious 
record, which tells of long ages past, distinguished by 
different physical and organic forces. But, how^ever 
different in the character of their phenomena, they 
unite in proving their common origin and ultimate 
end. 



PAET IV, 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 

I. 

FiJOM the vast and mysterious records of nature, 
upon which the wonders of unnumbered ages Iiave 
been written, we pass, with increasing reverence, to 
the widespread field of organic matter. And here, 
surrounded by the living witnesses of Creative 
PowEK and Goodiness, we learn facts of deeper inte- 
rest and more startling significance. Beneatli us we 
see the various fruits of past centuries ; the indis- 
pensable materials of the present ; which internal 
convulsions and external violence, which life and 
death, lengthened prosperity, and sudden extinction, 
have deposited in this mighty storehouse of genera- 
tions. But over all these successive changes of 
matter, animate and inanimate, an Infinite Wisdom 
presided ; and out of their ruins a more perfect 
edifice has been constructed for man. We still have 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 149 

the humble tenant of an hour, whose progenitors 
lived and sang before man was ; still the varied 
forms, organs, and remarkable adaptations of each, 
which enable iis to distinguish the exhmned denizens 
of the earliest periods. Between the multitudinous 
forms various resemblances exist, but they result from 
the necessity which similar constructions and instincts 
create. There is a universal harmony in the discord- 
ant members. As music is composed of different 
sounds, so God, in his wisdom has created a perfect 
whole out of innumerable and apparently contradic- 
tory parts. The earth is diversified with frowning 
mountains and smiling plains ; with barren and 
with fertile spots ; with arid deserts and ocean 
depths ; it is clothed with the lichen and the oak, 
and tenanted by different species, classes, and 
departments of the animal kingdom, each of which 
performs a distinct office. The mountains feed the 
springs and rivers which supply the intervening 
valleys. The inequalities of the surface serve to 
relieve it from a superabundance of water, and the 
depths of the ocean receive it. And although the 
desert appears useless to man, it may not be less 
important in the economy of nature than the ocean 
by which it is surrounded. 

Certain philosophers consider the various orga- 
nisms simply different forms of the same life; not 
7* , 



150 DISTINCT EMBRTOXIC FORMS. 

separate and distinct creations, but the legitimate 
offspring of tlie same common parents ; tliat tliroiigli 
an instinctive longing foi' improvement, the inferior 
gradually but steadily advanced to the superior. If 
this is true, the changes must have been uniform, 
and the superior and inferior composed of the same 
constituent elements. It is our purpose, however, to 
show that this is not the case. To do this, we will 
attempt to draw the line of distinction between the 
various forms and divisions of the vegetable world, 
and successively point out the differences which exist 
between the vegetable and animal kingdoms. 

It becomes necessary, in the development hypothe- 
sis, to establish the existence of some connecting- 
link between the grand divisions of organic matter. 
If no such connection exists, the possibility of a 
change of character or transmutation cannot be sus- 
tained. In each division of the vegetable kingdom, 
the embryos are marked by peculiarities by which 
they are easily distinguished. " The monocotyledo- 
nous embiyo is of an ovoid form, or like a cjdinder 
rounded at its extremities. The dicotyledonous em- 
bryos are sometimes similar in form, but are always 
distinguished from the monocotyledons by the divi- 
sion of the cotyledonous extremity into two lobes. 
The gemmule in the monocotyledonous embryo occu- 
pies a cavity in the inside, and differs in the elonga- 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 151 

tivn of the axis." The embryos are dissimilar, and 
this difference finally decides the character of the 
plant. But not only in form are they different ; the 
elementary particles are not the same in the very 
beginning of its growth. This variety of form and of 
elements natnrally secures different powers ; and as a 
result it is found that the functions performed by the 
one are beyond the powers of the other. " Vegetable 
substances, apparently identical, not only present 
themselves under entirely different forms j but they 
also produce (in the poppy, for instance) certain 
bodies^ which are entirely different from those pro- 
duced either in the aconite or in the oak tree ; nay, 
in different organs of the same plant they give rise to 
entirely different products, and perform entirely dif- 
ferent functions." The constituent materials are 
different, and these produce a difference in form, 
which finally results in the production of a different 
wood and fruit. The whole depends on the combina- 
tion of the constituent elements. These are differently 
combined in the various families, and therefore they 
take dissimilar forms, and perform entirely different 
functions. If these facts are granted, it must be 
admitted that the first visible form of the plant 
results from, and is in accordance with, the primary 
arrangement and combination of its elementary 
parts. 



152 COMBINATION OF THE ELEMENTS. 

The incalculable variety of the oro-anic kingdom 
depends, not so much on the variety of the inorganic 
materials, for these are few and simple, as it does on 
the admixture of them. After this combination, 
which is the first step to, and sign of, organization, 
takes place, the energies of that combination de- 
velope the plant ; but this development is involun- 
tary, and necessarily confined to certain and un- 
changeable limits. The form and functions of the 
plant, therefore, are determined by the Power which 
secured the combination of its constituent elements ; 
and not by any peculiarities or dynamic difference to 
be found in the inorganic substances. As the plant 
has no existence until this combination of elements 
takes place, its whole character depends on the com- 
bining Agency ; and this must be distinct from and 
prior to the plant itself, giving it its fruit in the 
season, and withering its leaves and branches at a 
word, whenever exhibitions of Infinite Powee are 
necessary to instruct or admonish those whom kind- 
ness cannot reach. 

While the great variety of plants depends on tlie 
primary combination of the inorganic substances, it is 
effected through the action of differently constructed 
organs. For this purpose the organs are variously 
constructed and arrans-ed. Plants containins: alkali 
possess organs fitted to produce it ; and those abound- 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 153 

ing in acids have organs peculiarly adapted to their 
production. Thus, various substances are elaborated 
out of the same soil, and plants as dissimilar as anj 
found in the whole vegetable kingdom are made to 
flourish almost in the embrace of each other. This 
provision and adajDtation is highly important in the 
economy of life. The antiaris toxicaria^ one of the 
most poisonous plants in the whole range of vegetable 
matter, may be found by the side of the most inno- 
cent and useful. The poisonous vine springs up out of 
the same soil that sustains the tree whose trunk it 
entwines, and around whose delicious fruit it gathers 
in beautiful but fearful festoons. We have seen 
some of the rich fruits of the tropics thus protected 
from the touch of man, and compelled, as if by some 
curse, to ripen and decay amid the flowers which 
surrounded them. 

From this very limited notice of the elementary 
materials, and the force of different combinations, 
we pass on to the growth of the embryo, which is 
peculiar in each of the grand divisions. The 
monocotyledonous seeds are generally provided with 
a perisperm, and in such cases the cotyledon is not 
disengaged from the seed. It forms either an elonga- 
tion on the outside by which it is attached to the 
axis, or remains sessile on the axis. When there is 
no perisperm the cotyledon is separated from its 



154 GEEMINATION OF THE EMBRYO. 

integument, and raised vertically with the gemmnie. 
The germination of the dicotyledonous embryo is 
entirely different ; in it the gemmule comes out of 
the interval of the cotyledons at their base, and not 
out of the interior of a sheath. The gemmule is 
freely lengthened in its direction, while the exorhizal 
radicle pursues an independent course. Acotyle- 
donous 23lants are destitute of the organs we have 
just described, and their germination is necessarily 
different. Their spores are disconnected from the 
cavity wdiich encloses them, and do not open to give 
passage to any interior formation, but germinate by 
an elongation of themselves. They are the simplest 
form of the reproductive organ, and have little or 
no resemblance to the complicated structure of the 
ovules of the phanerogamous plants. 

These are the leading distinctions in the growth of 
the divisions. But, according to Professor Schleiden, 
the differences exist in the earliest stages of the cellu- 
lar tissues. The gummy solution is taken up and 
thickened into a jelly, w^hich is changed into cytoblasts 
or germs. These take forms peculiar to each class ; 
in the dicotyledonous plants they are rounded lenti- 
cular bodies, while they are more oval and much 
larger in the monocotyledons. 

This distinction in the form of the Cytoblasts in 
the various classes, corresponds with the difference 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 155 

in tlie forais of the globules of the blood of herbivo- 
rous and carnivorous animals ; and if the same experi- 
ment could be made on the vital forces, we think 
they would be found as essentially different as the 
globules of the blood. The blood is a transparent 
fluid, fall of small globules, which differ in number 
and form, according to the character of the animal. 
In man they are small and nearly circular. In fishes 
and birds they are larger and of an oblong spheroidal 
form. In reptiles, they are still larger and have a 
different form ; and in each of the grand orders of 
carnivora and herbivora, they are peculiarly marked ; 
so much so that the blood of one order is easily 
distinguished from the other under the microscope. 
The distinction in the size and form of these globules 
is wholly arbitrary ; yet the vital energy depends 
on their number and character. If an animal 
is bled to syncope, and the blood is permitted to 
flow on, death wall speedily ensue ; but if blood of a 
similar character, containing globules of the same 
size and form, be injected into the veins before the 
animal be entirely dead, it will recover. Experi- 
ments of this kind were frequently made during the 
seventeenth century, under the name of Transfusion. 
In this way it was ascertained, that the vital prin- 
ciple of the globules depended on their size and form ; 
and that the blood of the herbivorous animal would 



156 GLOBULES OF THE BLOOD. 

not answer lor injection into tlie carnivora. If blood 
with circular globules be transfused into the veins of 
an animal whose blood contains elliptical globules, 
or vice versa^ the animal will not recover. Dissimilar 
globules have the jDOwer to rouse the animal for a 
time only, but do not restore it. 

Thus, in the globules of the blood, in the rudimentary 
particles of the body, we find a distinction on which 
life depends. If life is everywhere the same, and 
all animals are connected with and spring from each 
other, how came this difference in the blood ? There 
appears to be no physical cause for it, and yet it is 
connected with the highest functions of the body. 
Certainly, if the blood had been transmitted from one 
animal to another, in a natural descent, it would 
have maintained its primary character. The globules 
of the lowest and the highest would be of the same 
form, and possess the same vital energy ; but such is 
not the case. The globules differ not only in all 
the departments of the animal kingdom, but also in 
each class and order ; and in the fishes, reptiles, and 
birds, the difference is observable in almost every 
family. In the great divisions, the differences are 
marked, but they become less distinct in the vajious 
orders and families. Admitting all that the advo- 
cates for transmutation or development desire ; that 
the natural longings of the animal, and the circum- 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 157 

stances surroundiDg it, might change the length, 
location, and even the character of the limbs and 
organs, yet these new circumstances conld not change 
tlie globules of the blood ; nor is there any perceiv- 
able reason for such change. These peculiarities in 
the blood exist imder similar circumstances, and 
depend, not on external relations, but on internal 
necessity. 

We find the same diversity of form in vegetable 
cells or utricles, as in the globules of the blood. 
Some of these cells are round ; others are oval ; and 
others are lengthened and sharpened at the ends ; 
while others assume tube-like forms. These forms 
are modified by growth and pressure, by which 
means they are forced into spheres, ellipsoids, poly- 
hedrons, cubes or dies, prisms, dodecahedrons, &c. 
N'ow, what law regulates these forms ? These first 
steps, or elementary peculiarities, are not governed 
by the plant ; for they are the beginning of the plant, 
and as such indicate its character. We know that 
the various families are composed of utricles, fibres, 
or vessels, peculiar to themselves, and that the flowers 
of each family have their own fixed number of 
whorls, and similar leaves, and that the fruit of each 
partake of similar properties; beyond this, science 
has not been able to penetrate. It has been said that 
the organs are the same, which, in a series of trans 



158 EEMARKS OF M. JUSSIEU. 

formations, have assumed the different modifications 
we have seen. " Observation," says M. Jussien, 
"which proves the truth of theories, determines the 
contrary. On w^atching the development of a vessel, 
we do not find any one. which in its different phases 
would have represented all the other kinds of vessels ; 
and the same thing may be said of cells. Remark, 
moreover, first, that in each part of a plant such and 
such modifications of cells, of fibres, of vessels, are 
found. "We have, for instance, in certain places, 
unroll able trachse, though in others we never meet 
with them. Second, that in spite of the similarity of 
the chemical composition of the w^alls, that of their 
contents is quite different, and like the shape, con- 
stant in appearance, and agreeing with the place 
which the cavity occupies in the vegetable. Thus, 
therefore, if all the elementary organs of vegetables 
commence their growth as utricles, among which we 
cannot discover any appreciable difference, excej^t in 
their form, it is no less true that each utricle is des 
tined from the beginning to assume, in its ulterior 
development, such a form, and no other ; to contain or 
to elaborate such a substance, and no other, it is not, 
therefore, always the same organ." 

We have seen that the vegetable embryo or germ, 
is different in the various classes, and that each class 
has its own peculiar mode of germination. Animal 



COMPAEATITE PHYSIOLOGY. 159 

embryos are also distinct in character ; for, however 
close the resemblance, there is a distinction whiclj, 
if beyond om- optical power at &st, soon manifests 
itself in their growth. There must be something in 
the embryo which gives direction to the individual 
growth ; or there is an Ixfixite Po^^^:E presiding over 
the development and growth of each one. This posi- 
tion proves the immediat-e intei'position, as well as 
the omnipresence, of the Supreme Cause ; and the 
former establishes the distinct and unchangeable 
character of each class. One of these positions must 
be correct ; and as both of them contradict the idea 
of transmutation or development, it is not important 
which one we force om* antagonists to accept. " We 
know that one sort of an egg will only give rise to 
one sort of an animal,*- says the learned Agassiz: 
" therefore, we must admit, that as an egg of one kind 
gives rise only to one sort of an animal, there must 
be an immaterial principle presiding over these 
changes, which is invariable in its nature, and is 
properly the cause of the whole process." And as in 
the case of vegetable embryos, those of the animal 
kingdom are developed in different ways. In some 
of them the yolk of the egg is divided and subdi- 
vided into innumerable little masses ; in others the 
division is only partial ; while in others the germ is 
elongated, and not divided at all. This division is 



160 DIVISION OF THE YOLK. 

eifected clifFerentlj in different animals. Thus in 
fishes, the yolk is first depressed, then divided into 
halves, and then again at right angles ; in other ani- 
mals, the yolk is divided into four equal parts, and 
these subdivided into small yolklets. Indeed, every 
species, as with vegetables, has its own peculiar 
mode of division, elongation, and growth. The 
germs of some animals are surrounded by two or 
more envelopes ; in others there is only one, as in 
fishes. In reptiles and mammalia there are two. 
These envelopes are differently formed, and arise 
from different portions of the yolk. Thus the radiata 
begin their growth by the formation of a distinct 
layer round the yolk, in the form of a spherical 
crust ; while the alimentary cavity is formed in the 
lower part of the yolk. In the articulata the germ is 
formed in the lower part of the yolk ; thus, occupy- 
ing a position directly reverse to that of the radiata. 
The first stages of their growth are distinguished in 
this way. But, if all these germs were developed in 
the same manner ; if the same division took place 
with a similar growth, the fact of an essential differ- 
ence in its germinative principles could still be main- 
tained. Yegetables stand b}^ the side of each other. 
and draw their nourishment from the same soil, yet 
are different in their form and chemical properties : 
and animals livins^ on the same kind of food have 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 161 

different organs, or similar organs with diversified 
powers and properties. The primordial elements are 
separated by the action of the digestive organs ; and 
new combinations are formed by the assimilative 
powers of the animal system. In this formation some 
law mxust be observed, which is either stamped on the 
germ itself, or is obedient to the will of the Powek 
from w^hich it derived its existence and vital force. 

But, leaving the cell and germ, let ns turn to the 
bud. In addition to the difference which, in obe- 
dience to the primary law, determines the character 
of the plant, we here find certain adaptations to loca- 
tion, climate, and circumstances, alike interesting and 
beautiful. In warm climates, where there is no dan- 
ger to be apprehended from the temperature of the 
atmosphere, the first leaves are as complete as the 
subsequent ones. But in northern latitudes, and on 
the mountains of the south, the first and outer leaves 
serve as envelopes for the rest. They are adapted to 
the nature of the plant and the temperature of the cli- 
mate. Some of them are hard and dry, like the enve- 
lope of a pear ; others are impregnated with insoluble 
matter, and are bad conductors of heat ; while others 
are covered with a thick down. In these arrange- 
ments in the vegetable creation we find the first 
marked evidence of Pkovidential care. 

The growth of the dicotyledonous bud differs ma- 



162 

terially from that of the monocotyledonous. In the 
former, the bud develops itself, and then stops and 
prepares a bnd for the following year. The stem, 
therefore, is composed of branches placed end to end, 
and exhibits the number of ligneous layers from the 
base to the top. In the latter the stem is simple, and 
there are no lateral ramifications. The bundles or 
fascicles, composed of small vessels, are scattered in 
the monocotyledonous stem, without any apparent 
order ; while those of the dicotyledonous stem are 
an-anged regularly in a circle, and approaching, 
touch each other, thus forming a ligneous ring. The 
fascicles of the dicotyledons ar€ uniform in their 
structure ; but those of the monocotyledons are irre- 
gular both in thickness and composition. The dico- 
tyledonous fascicle is divided, after a certain period ; 
but such a division never takes place in the monoco- 
tyledons. These peculiarities in their growth, in- 
duced Desfontaines to divide the vegetable kingdom 
into two great classes : 

" First. The Mois^ocoTYLEDOisors, or those which 
have no distinct concentric layers ; whose solidity 
decreases from the circumference towards the centre^ 
and in wMch the pith is interposed between the 
fibrous fascicles, without medullary elongations, into 
diverging rays. 

" Second. The Dicotyledonous, or those which 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 163 

have distinct concentric layers ; whose solidity de- 
creases from the centre to the circicmference^ and in 
which the pith is inclosed in a longitudinal canal, 
with medullary elongations, into diverging rays." 

The trunk of the monocotyledon is formed by the 
addition of fresh fascicles from the centre. As these 
push themselves up, the outside ones are compressed, 
and thus become harder than the internal ones. This 
manner of growth is directly inverse to that of the 
dicotyledonous plant. In this the new layers are out- 
ermost, and therefore we find the centre of the plant 
the most compact. These peculiarities in the distri- 
bution, arrangement, and growth of the fascicles, and 
the difference in their form and structure, enable the 
initiated to determine the class to which the stems 
belong, without seeing anything but the stem ; and it 
is by these that the plants of the coal measures are 
classified, and the character of their vegetation is 
known. 

The bark of the vegetable kingdom is also marked 
by certain peculiarities. The bark of the dicotyle- 
donous plant is composed of several parts ; the epi- 
dermis, cortical layer, cellular layer, and cortical 
fibres or liber. The suberous and cellular layers 
found in the dicotyledonous division, are never dis- 
tinctly developed in the monocotyledonous plants, 
nor is the liber to be found in the latter. But not 



164 FORMA.TION OF THE LEAVES. 

these alone ; there are shades of difference in all the 
parts, too fine to be easily detected : many are known 
to exist by the influence only which they exert on the 
plant. 

In passing to the leaves we are met with differ- 
ences equally characteristic. The leaf is either pal- 
mate or pinnate, according as the petiolary fascicle 
is divided into divergent ones, or continued in the 
medium line. The dicotyledonous plants have articu 
lated leaves, with dentate and crenate outlines, and 
are divided into lobes by angles. They either radiate 
like the spokes of a wheel, or follow the plane of the 
petiole. The monocotyledon is more uniform and 
simple, and is not marked by that net-work of nerves 
which we find in the dicotyledons. The three great 
classes have nearly the same combination in the 
spiral arrangement of their leaves ; the angles of 
divergence constitute the principal difference. The 
monocotyledons have generally three leaves to the 
whorl ; while that arrangement is scarcely ever found 
in the dicotyledons. 

Leaves which live under water differ very much in 
their construction from aerial ones ; but this depends 
on the element in which they live. They have no 
epidermis, and consequently no stomrta ; while 
lengthened cells take the place of the fibro-vascular 
skeleton, which we find in aerial leaves. The paren- 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 165 

chjma alone composes the leaf. Its cells are very 
closely united, but frequently present enlarged lacu- 
nae, which are regular in form and arrangement, 
and are completely enclosed by the surrounding cells = 
These lacunae are adapted and appear destined to 
diminish the specific gravity of the leaf, thus per- 
forming functions analogous to those performed by 
the bladders of fishes. The character and arrange- 
ment of the cells of the epidermis regulate the 
number, position, and form of the exhaling or cor- 
tical pores ; which are known by the name of stomata. 
and are difiierent in each of the great divisions of the 
vegetable kingdom. 

The flowers of monocotyledons have five whorls, 
each containing three parts ; while the dicotyledons 
have four whorls, with five parts in each. This is the 
leading distinction between the two classes : there 
are others, however, more or less important, by which 
the minor divisions are distinguished from each other. 
But the variations never become parallel to each 
other ; the distinctions, however slight, are main- 
tained through all the divisions and subdivisions of 
the kingdom. The multiplicity of forms and colors, 
each with a peculiar fragrance, and the great variety 
of pistils, petals, stamens, and stigma, are Gufu- 
ciently marked to impress the most careless observer. 

They are so inseparably connected with every idea of 
8 



166 DIFFERENCE IN THE EOOTS. 

delicacy. and beauty; sucli fit emblems of elegance 
and pm-ity, that he is unfortunate indeed who does 
not understand their language, and the lessons thej 
are perpetually repeating. 

TltG Roots of the different classes have less to 
gratify the senses, but quite as much to convince the 
judgment in an inquiry like this. In the acotyledons 
there is no distinction of parts in the embryo ; the 
roots are simply tubular elongations of the cells 
touching the soil. But in the monocotyledons and 
dicotyledons, the radicles are distinct in the embryo, 
yet they are developed differently in each. In the 
first, the embryo is pierced to allow the radicle to 
pass, and is covered by a superficial layer, which 
forms a sheath for the root. In the latter, the radi- 
cular extremity of the axis is lengthened into what is 
called the tap-root, which throws off other roots suffi- 
cient to suj)port the tree. The monocotyledonous 
roots are generally compound, but do not throw off 
so many branches as the dicotyledonous roots. The 
anairgcv'-ient and development of the vessels differ 
inatei-irJly from that observed in the steins. As the 
radicle is not found in the acotyledons, there is no 
an?.ingy between their growth and that of the other 
clas^ies. These cells are lengthened analogous to the 
epidermis, and accomplish their destiny by throwing 
off adventitious roots. 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 167 

The respiratory organ differs in the cliiierent 
classes of vegetables, as in animals of different 
grades. The air enters through the stomata on the 
leaf, and penetrates the parenchvma and other layers 
before it reaches the cavities of the trach^e ; but the 
trachse is not the only respiratory membrane. Some 
plants (the ferns for instance) have no trne trachse, 
yet their respiration is perfect. These organs, how- 
ever, are not able to effect the necessary chemical 
changes withont light, the great vivifying agent. 
The plant in respiring decomposes the carbonic acid 
gas, and retains the carbon and a small portion of 
oxygen ; but the solar action is indispensably neces- 
sary in the process. Yfhen plants are kept in the 
dark they lose their color and solidity, thns proving a 
loss of carbon, on which their solidity depends. 
During respiration vegetables throw off oxygen, and 
take up carbon ; but at night when respiration ceases, 
they throw off carbonic acid gas. The decomposition 
and consolidation of the elementary substances are 
effected by the action of the sun and water, while the 
color of the plant, and the growth of the woody parts, 
depend more directly on the elements of the solar 
rays, and the composition of the atmosphere. 

As it is our object to show the fallacy of the idea 
of transmutation, and the de' elopment hypothesis, 
not only from the distinctions in the vegetable and 



168 PKOPERTIES OF THE SOLAK KAYS. 

animal kingdoiiis, but also from their adaptations to 
eacli other, and to the 'world of matter around them, 
it is proper to notice tlie liarmoDj which exists 
between the veo-etable kin2;dom and the laws of heat 
and light, and the revolutions of tlie earth. It has 
been ascertained that a raj of solar light contains 
several distinct principles; one portion represents 
color, another affects tlie temperature, while a third 
contains the chemical princi23le, wliich is invisible, 
and has no influence on the thermometer. Ye^reta- 
tion is regulated by the seasons ; but what agency 
does lighl, and esj^ecially the harmonious action of 
these distinct principles, perform ? This question wa.s 
before the British Association last year, and submit- 
ted to Mr. Hunt for investigation. From his report, 
it appears that light transmitted through yellow glass 
has little or no influence on the germination of seeds, 
from the fact that the chemical portion of the ray will 
not pass through that color. Every vegetable re- 
quires a certain portion of all these principles, and 
will not survive \dthout them. And it is upon the 
changes in the proportion of them, that germination, 
growth, and fructification, depend. These changes 
are in harmony with the seasons, and may result 
from them. " It is now an ascertained fact," says 
Mr. Hunt, " that the solar beam during spring con- 
tains a large amount of the actinic principle, so neces- 



COIMZPAKATITE PHYSI0LCK9-T. 169 

sary at that ceason for the germination of seeds and 
the development of bnds. In sr^mmer there is a 
large proportion of the light-giving principle, neces- 
sary to the foiiiiation of the woody parts of the plant. 
As antnmii approaches, the calorific or heat-giving 
T>rin.ciT)les of the solai* ravs increase. This is neces- 

J. J. c- 

sary to harden the "^oody parts, and prepare them 
for the approaching ^vinter. It is thns that the pro- 
poirions of the different piinciples are changed with 
the seasons, and thns that vegetation is germinated, 
grown, and hardened by them.*' "We know not how 
these facts may act on the miads of others, bnt in 
the axis of the earth, so arbitrary yet so essential; 
in the distinct piinciples of solar light, so mysterions, 
yet so powerfol and important in their action on 
vegetable life ; and in the adaptation in the propor- 
tion of these piiiiciples to the seasons and necessities 
of the kinordom, we recos^nize the strons^est evidence 
01 the existence of an Ixfintts "Wisrcsr and an ever- 
active GOOBXESS. 

The growth of the wood is also different. "We 
have seen that one class has its growth externally, 
and another hitemally ; there are differences also in 
the foiTQ, growth, and aiTangement of the trachte, 
cells, lactiferous vessels, and fascicles. The elements 
of the fascicles of the dicotyledonons plant are 
divided after the first 3-ear ; one part remains as the 



ITO VAEEETY AND ADAPTATION. 

ligneous, while the other becomes the cortical system. 
This division never takes place in the monocotyle- 
dons. In the acotyledons the fascicles have another 
arrangement, qnite distinct from either of the former. 
They have no unrollahle trachse ; indeed, they differ 
in every particular. Their stems grow at their sum- 
mits, by the lengthening of the fascicles already 
formed, which is wholly unlike the manner of growth 
in their kindred classes. 



11. 



VEGETABLE VARIETY AND ADAI»TATION. 

It is truly wonderful to contemplate the multiplicity 
of forms found in the vegetable kingdom ; but our 
astonishment is increased when we think of the dif- 
ferent powers which these various forms possess. The 
perfect adaptation of their organs to the offices they 
perform, and the infinite chemical combinations 
elaborated by them, force us to recognize them as 
separate and distinct creations. In this review of the 
distinctions in the forms and functions of the principal 
divisions of the vegetable kingdom, we have not been 
able to find tke point in the diflerent plants, or 
periods in their growth, in which the distinct features 
are blended in each other ; or when they in the least 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 171 

appear to blend. Indeed, no such point can be 
found. The characteristic features are stain ped in- 
delibly on the elementary parts, and continued 
through all the various stages of their growth and 
decay. They never represent each other ; never run 
into each other, but are always the same ; performing 
the same functions, elaborating the same substances, 
and working out, through the mysterious process of 
their growth, the same peculiarities and forms. 

The question now presents itself; is it j)robable, or 
even possible, that these differently constituted plants 
sprung from the same parent stock? Their constitu- 
ent elements are differently combined ; their forms 
are dissimilar, and their organs or tissues are not 
only unlike in themselves, but elaborate different 
substances out of the same soil, thus proving that 
they have different powers, and that they are in fact 
and in every particular distinct from, and indepen- 
dent of, each other. If any such transmutation took 
place in the early ages of the world, w^ould we not 
know something of the fact, through the pages of 
botanic history. By various means the history of 
many plants has been transmitted regularly dowTi 
from century to century, yet no change has been 
observed in their character. The seeds taken from 
the monuments of Eg}^3t produced plants precisely 
like those of the present day; yet centuries must 



172 ETTDENCES OF DESIGN. 

have passed away with their innumerable events and 
ch^iiiges, since those seeds were first locked up within 
their mighty vaults. Dm-ing this period of time, no 
change has taken place in the vegetable kingdom. 
A few plants have suffered some slight alteration by 
cultivation and change of locality ; but none what- 
ever in their chemical properties or elementary 
principles ; these remain essentially the same. 

If in addition to the distinctions which we have 
seen, there appears to be an important end obtained 
by them, the conclusion to which they point will be 
the more irresistible. He who contemplates the 
variety and beauty of the vegetable creation, and 
enjoys the fragrance of our gardens and prau'ies, 
without feeling grateful to the Author of their exist- 
ence, who ordered the variety of their colors to 
please, and their sweetness to gratify, is sadly defi- 
cient in all that refines and ennobles humanity, and 
needs some correcting influence to quicken his sensi- 
bilities and jjrompt his gratitude. Yet these are sub- 
ordinate offices only, when compared with the more 
imjDortant parts they perform in the economy of 
nature. Xor do they merit much consideration when 
viewed as e\fidences of original design. It is the 
adaptation of the vegetable families to the perform- 
ance of their multiplied offices, their distribution 
over the continents, their chemical and medicinal 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 173 

properties, and their general usefulness to man, 
which most clearly prove them to be the oifspring of 
an intelligent and kind Ceeatoe. 

It has been said that it was quite as important to 
provide for the wants of man as to create him. But 
the great question involved in the theory of develop- 
ment is, not whether it was necessary to create him, 
but how he was created ! By what direct and intelli- 
gent power, if by any ? Did the same wisdom provide 
for his wants that gave him life ? or did these sup- 
plies result fortuitously from the operation of the 
forces which elaborated the human soul? In the 
distribution of vegetables we find much that is inter- 
esting and instructing. In the vegetable creation, as 
in everything else, a general compensation takes place 
between the difierent portions of the globe we in- 
habit. The absence of one is compensated by another ; 
so that the various climates are supplied with different 
vegetables, answering the same important ends. The 
most useful, however, have a wider range, and seem \ < 
be adapted to a greater variety of climate. Ti;-; 
cereals, which are pre-eminently the most uscf-ilj an; 
successfully cultivated as far north as the ecveniietii 
degree of latitude. But this depends on Ox-3 modiii- 
cations of the climate, for they are not usually found 
so far north. Their boundary varies between fi fly- 
one and seventy degrees north latitude. "Wheat is 
8* 



produced in Scotland^ Z„_ _ , T.-l e. '3-eimaBT, 
Hungary, Central Asia. ^:::-i America, Brazil, 
Bneaos Axres, CMI:. : .: r ? : - I Htipe, Xe^ 

^uth Wales, and Zs=~ 21 _ ._ . I_ .^jain, Porni- 
saL Italv, Greece, As::; Y z :. :?-r:a. Peisia, and 
South America. i^.:izr : 2r Jie place of 

Tilieat. Kice supplies its : : t i. 2 ::::; and Japan, 
but it is not coitSne*^ - L — z- - :: ^ -nccess- 
fullj cnlnv^ate*! iii :_ i_Ti;::i^s i :_- ~e~tem 
worid, r.jf :.-: i : 'jZ^^-j are scatteievi : _ die 
sev^itieth Cr _ : : : : : ]:tii latitude, as fer soudi as Yan 
r':r-z:.n*s Isiand. Tl"? :: i: Tesas that these, the 
II r - :' '1 A afl pLi :. : - ^ t ted to almost everT 

Z :: iz. :1t .-^t countries, l:e:~:^rz -^^ ~::::-s, other 
-e^T ~ ets are provided to supplj the ~i:::s 

: : :: I^ : date, c: :-::~:. yam, and 

.: : : - : :. ::t rj:iitered over :l.r ~h:le inter- 
z:^::: : z: Zl^J commence lirLr:^ ' e eereals 
'itop, and appear to be belter adapted t : " r : Z_ :^bitan& 
uf ti!i?se wamm cKniaies than rlrse ~L: „ :„: : :^ate 
de^csttem- Ibese grains : : :: -^ :.\- a^piod to 
a gfc^t variety of dimRir :-:: . - _1. ^liZe those le^ 
c^€3itisi zt^ irequentiy o:-'~^-ei to very small ter- 
ril%>ri^. !Oie lo^ of one is compensated by the 
sp^Kitaneous growth of another, answering the same 
porp&se, and alnM^ always bditer adapted to the 



inhabitants of the conntiy in which it is fonnd. This 
power of accommodation, and abilitv to matore nnder 
so great a Tarietr of cirenmstances, are not given to 
other divisions and :l^milies of the v^etable king- 
dom. 3tIaQT of the largest, and apparentlT the 
hardiest, plants and trees are confined to very limited 
zones, and soon wither and die if removed beyond 
them. This is perfectly natural, for each locality and 
climate requires a distinct, we might say peculiar, 
organization of the nerx'ous and respiratory sjstems. 
The monntain-plant cannot ilrl^e in the valley, nor 
the valley tenant on the mountain-top. If these 
dianges are made the plant will ? : t: ^^her and die. 

'Nest in importance, are the Vt_- t? and plants 
used for chemical and me : i^ . '_\\-\ --.. This 
field is so huge that a few only can be mentioned. 
In this we will discover the results of the different 
organs heretofc»re referred to. In one femily, we find 
the EuphoT^ia Ijpecacuanha^ Castor-oil ptant^ Ttglium^ 
Jan ipha. MancAifieel^^ etc. These -are found together, 
yet how different in character. From the first, 
second, and third, some of OTir best and mildest; as 
well as our most active purgatives are derived. The 
J:iriii La supplies food for a large part of the popula- 
tion of S«3uth America ; while the poisonous shade 
of the manchineel verifies the extravagant stories about 
the deadly up<MS. In anoAer femily vr~ ^ \ "1^ h-jp. 



176 MEDICmAL PLANTS. 

hemp, miilbeny, fig, Indian-rubber, bread-fruit tree, 
and antiaris toxicaria. Here is a most remarkable 
combination of dissimilar properties in the same 
family. The bread-fruit tree, so important to the 
inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, the hemp which 
is invaluable in commerce, the liop equally impor- 
tant in brewing and cooking, and the Indian-rubber, 
which is becoming more and more useful to man. 
The fig supplies us vvith a most valuable fruit, while 
the antiaris toxicaria yields strychnine, an alkaloid, 
very useful in chemistry and medicine. 

In addition to these, we have tlie rhubarb, mirahilis^ 
jalapa^ cistic creticus^ mustard, poppy, kalumba, 
cassia senna, capaifera^ etc., all esteemed for their 
medicinal properties. It has been said, and we think 
with much truth, that every country and climate 
produces, in the form of vegetable and mineral 
compounds, all the remedies that the diseases of each 
locality require. ISTature, like a vast chemical labora- 
tory, is constantly preparing and storing up all that 
is needed as astringents, febrifuges, oils, acids, 
cathartics, tonics, emetics, etc.; all the apparent 
deficiencies result from our ignorance of the medicinal 
properties of the indigenous plants. It is thus tliat 
man is armed with remedies and antidotes against 
the many disorders and derangements of the human 
system. But the goodness of the Ceeatok stops not 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 1Y7 

here. Every wJiere in nature, from the fragrant 
flower of the desert, to the indescribable display of 
power above our heads, beauty is inwrought with 
the useful. The flowers might have been as fragrant 
without the varieties of form and color, which make 
up their beauty ; but \\athout these the charm of the 
flower-bespangled lawn would be gone, and the soul 
compelled to remaui untouched by such scenes of 
beauty. The countless stelhir systems might have 
been arranged by the Almighit hand to perfonn 
their various offices in the universe, without shining 
upon this nether sphere ; but such ao arrangement 
would have robbed the heavens of those softly beam- 
ing eyes of the outward space, and left the world with- 
out their cheering light. jMo starry sentinels would 
have been left to tell the tad and lonely, of other 
i.;l:ates of existence, and of other beings who look 
dowm from those distant orbs with earnest, anxious 
gaze, upon our toilings here ; or to bring back with the 
V'mg: train of dreamy thoughts, life's half forgotten 
joy.s^ and fill the throbbing heart with hopes of others 
yet to come. 

The distant planets all 



Are fiU'd with radiant creatures; and the heart 
Becomes interpreter, and language makes 
(;ut of Ils sad sympathies, with which 
1 1 seeks lo write their histories ; but oftenest 
Writes its own, yet knows it not. 



178 THE SILK-WORM. 

Abnndaui provision is also made to gratify the dif- 
ferent tastes of mankind. The Bese da luteola^ Log- 
wood^ hidigofera^ Ancliusa tinctoria^ supply the ma- 
terials for coloring and enriching the plain fabric 
which the cotton plant and m.ulberry leaf enable 
anin;al ingenuity to construct. "We refer to the pecu- 
liar properties of the mulberry, not forgetting the fact 
tluit man. with all his boasted superiority, is a depen- 
dant on the worm, too frequently crushed beneath his 
feet, for much of all that is elegant in his apparel. 
The silk- worm cannot accomplish the object of its 
creation without the mulberry leaf — the substance 
on which it feeds — and God, as if to (insure the con- 
tinuation of this useful species, has so ordained it, 
that no other insect will partake of the same food, 
thus ensuring a certain supply for the little spinster. 
This appears to be a small matter, yet it as clearly 
exhibits design and goodness ir. ihe crer^ting Powhr, 
as the laws whicli ln>ld the br>dies of our astral and 
stellar systems toirethcr. 

Other A'egolabicv-^ furnish genius the means of per- 
petuating tlie IV iitures of the departed, and of trans- 
ferrins: to canvas all that is sublime and beautiful in 
natural scenery. To these beautiful provisions for 
supplying oar wants, and securing our happiness, a 
great variety of fruits has been added, which if not 
necessary, appears almost indispensable. ISTumerous 



as are the tastes and desires of tiie human iknulT, 
tiiej are all £iij»pl:ed from nature's inexLanstible 
storehonEe. All ai onnd ns miiuster in some way or 
odier to oar gxjod. Every noble sentiment of tbe 
heait :^ds soiaething withont to pmify and increase 
it. This all our I^^nfrings for the nadenned and 
inTisible are insensibly fixed on the fntore, and ths 
higher faculties of the soul thus gradually fitted for 
the enjoyment of the tmlmown treasures of the 
Lifinite and jEtemiiL 

TTe hare seen ibe relation the vegetable kingdom 
snstaiDs to man. in supplying his wants and giatify- 
ing his desires ; ire now turn to view the adaptaticHi 
of the various families to their locality; and the 
general and very important omc^ which they per- 
foim in the economy of nator^. And first their 
adaptation. Plants indig^ious to mountains and dry 
wastes have guttere in their leafstream&, by which 
the moisture they collect <m. their leav^ is conveyed 
to their roc»ts. They have a power, also, hy which 
they aitract water from the vapor in the air more 
speedily tLan other plants. The parictana p-c^sesses 
this power in a reinartable degr*^. TTe are assnred 
by travellers that there is a tree in the mountains of 
FeiTo, 'jrhich fomishes the inhabitants with laige 
quantities of wr.^ifr by distilling it from the clouds 
which it attiacas, and depositing it in leservoirs 



180 COROLLA OF flowp:es. 

around the tree ; from which it is drawn by the in- 
habitants. Many of the plants of low grounds have 
their first leaves in the form of furrows or little 
spoons ; 6uch as the violet, and many of the grasses 
and grains. In the spring, these tufts of young 
leaves raise tlieniselv^es up towards heaven like pav/s, 
to catch the falling drops. Most of these leaves lose 
their gutter forai as they grow older. It is permanent 
in mountain plants only, and there it is always neces- 
sary. In these it remains to conduct the rain-water 
into the tree. The branch, by its obliquity, conveys 
it to the trunk ; from thence it descends to the roots. 
The bark is adapted also to this important. ofHce ; as 
it always is cleft lengthwise, and never across. 

The corolla of flowers is adapted to the heat of the 
sun; and their duration depends on the quantity of heat 
which they collect. Some of them are protected by their 
form from the rays of the sun ; while others sustain 
the full cfiulgenc'3 of his rays without injury. Some 
are provided witli dusky reflectoi's ; others have the 
power of closing as occasion may require ; and ot^.ers 
are prorided witli ^larasols, by which they protect 
themselves, like the crown imperial, whose flowers 
are shaded by a plume of green leaves. Some 
have carves, by which they collect the heat at the 
centre ; while in others the curves are so arranged 
that they are able to dissipate the heat. Thus, not 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 181 

witlistanding the large size and whiteness of the cup 
of the lily, the more it expands the more it disperses 
the heat. In midsummer, at noon-day, when all 
other flowers srem exhausted, it lifts its head above 
its drooping associates, and triumphantly disperses 
the rays of the hottest sun. Other flowers have pro- 
visions to protect them from the cold ; while another 
family is adapted to bloom on the surface of the 
water ; such as the ugiirjpfwca^ which floats on the mar- 
gin of lakes, and accommodates itself to the motion 
of the waves, without having its centre wet by them. 
The valesneria are nnaarKa-ble examples of this class. 
Tliey grow abundantly on the Rhine, and would be 
exposed to frequent inundations by the sudden over- 
flows of that river, had they not been provided with 
stems formed like cork-screws, which easily stretch 
out to the length of three or four feet, and when the 
water subsides, settle back again like an elastic 
spring : in this way they keep their blossoms always 
on the surface of the water. 

But the provisions for protection are not confined 
to external objects ; many buds are protected from 
their own stems. While very small and tender, they 
are wrapped in a tough integument, called calix ; 
and the more rough and branching the plant, the 
thicker the calix. This calix. is sometimes in the form 
of a cap, armed with bristles, as may be seen in the 



182 PROTECTION OF THE HOLLY. 

rose. These protections are never found on flowers 
that grow on stems without branches. The holly is 
provided witli means to defend itself ii'om external 
violence. The edges of the leaves are armed witli 
long sharp spines, up as high as cattle can reach ; 
but as they arc safe above chat point, and the protect- 
ing spines are no longer necessary, they are found to 
be perfectly smooth. South ey says : 

" Below, a circling fence, its leaves are seen, 

Wrinkled and keen ; 
No grazing cattle through their prickly roimd 

Can reach to woiiud ; 
But as they grow where r.otliiiii; is to fear, 
Smooth and unarmed the poiiitless leaves appear." 

" Oftentimes Vv^e see some horb which has flowered 
in the midst of a thorny Blirnb,'' says Mr. Lj'ell, 
" when all the othei- individuals of the same species, 
in the. open fields around, are eaten down, and cannot 
bring their seed to n':c>.tarity. In this case, the shrub 
has lent his armor of spinos and prickles to protect 
the defenceless herb against the mouths of the cattle ; 
and thus a few individuals which occupied, perhaps, 
the most imfavorable station in regard to exposure, 
soil, and otlier (drcumstances, may, nevertheless, by 
the aid of an ally, become the principal source 
whereby the winds are supplied with seeds which 
perpetuate the species throughout the surrounding 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 183 

tract. Thus, in tlie IsTew Forest in Hampshire, the 
J onng oaks which are not consumed by the deer, or 
uprooted by the swine, are indebted to the holly for 
their escape." 

Thus, we see how plants are protected from them- 
selves, the different parts from each other; >irA how 
they are armed with de5jiisive spines to protect their 
parts from animals, and to shield each other. We 
might show, also, how they are ]3'i'otected from the 
intrusion of each cthc:* by insects ; and how the':e 
insects become the means of preserving the balance 
in the vegel able Mngdom; how they stay the jDro- 
gress, or pej'liaps entirely destroy one to encoura/xe 
and protect anotlior ; there is scarcely a beast tluit 
will touch the netde ; yet many insects are fed by it. 
They live on different parts of it, and greatly check 
its grow^th. Were it not for this fact) it would en- 
tirely root out and destroy many valuable plants. Ey 
such means the mighty baliiL'/^e in the variable iuv\ 
conflicting elements is m.'iintained, and the harmony 
of the creation secured. A mo"«t t^triking evidence of 
a universal arrangement and adaptation: and of that 
dependence which the Al^itohty Gkeator has 
thought it best to write upon all Jiis subjects. 



184 DIFFERENCES. 



III. 



DTFFEliENCES i^ THE TWO iLIKGDO.MS. 

lljivi)ig tlius "brieilj noticed tlie dieii^jctinns in tlie 
vegetaWe kingdom, we Tvill now in%-Ilo tlie reader's 
attention to those which exist between the two king- 
doms. And first as to the phenoincrja of life itself, 
which will be found to be different In every particular. 
Vegetables have the power merely of supporting 
themselves, and of reproducinir their kind; while 
animals have the faculty of det^riiu'nate motion, and of 
receiving and percei\dDg external impressions. Ani- 
mals are endowed v/itli a gre^.tor number of faculties, 
and are therefore necessarily suj^plied with more 
complicated organs But the differences are not 
confineil to the organs ; the structure of the tissue is 
very dissimilar. The tissues of vegetables are com- 
posed of cells or utricles, famished with walls, hollow 
in tiie centre. In animals, the tissues are composed 
of filaments or laminge, which intercross each other, 
forming iijcmbi-anes more or less spongy ; but these 
are not alvvays divided into cells as in vegetables. 
These cells are sometimes found in animals ; but it is 
somewhat doubtful whether they are natm'al and 
permanent. We prefer to adhere to the opinion 



COMPAKATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 185 

generally entertained, before the investigations of 
Professor Schwann. His conclnsions have not re- 
ceived the unqualified approbation of our most 
distinguished physiologists. Professor Agassiz spcaKS 
of the results of Professor Schwann's investigations 
ap23rovingly, but thinks they will be somewhat modi- 
fied. Previous, and we may add with equal truth, 
subsequent investigations are against the professor. 
He has not been able to explain the peculiar stages 
of development in animal tissues by the cell theory. 
The chemical composition of these cells is peculiar in 
each of these kingdoms, and also in each of the 
grand divisions of the kingdoms. Cellulose, com- 
posed of nearly equal parts of carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen, forms tlie principal part of the cellular mass 
in plants ; while gelatine, composed of unequal pails 
of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, is the 
primary material in ardmals. To this rule Professor 
Mulder says no exception has ever been discovered. 
The skeletons of vegetable tissues are composed of 
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only ; while azote or 
nitrogen is united with them in the tissues of animals. 
Azotized matter is sometimes found in vegetables, but 
it does not appear to be necebsary or natural to them. 
These differences are easily detected when the mem- 
branes are decomposed either by age, or by some 
artificial process, which does not destroy or recom- 



186 EESPIRATOKY DIFFEKENCES. 

bine the constituent elements in the act of decom- 
position. 

These kingdoms present the greatest distinction in 
their growth. Vegetables absorb inorganic particles 
by the extremity of their roots ; wliile animals feed 
upon organic particles, and absorb their nntriment by 
the ramifications of the nervous and lymphatic vessels 
m the intestinal tube. The food of animals is pre- 
viously prepared by digestion, which is accomplished 
by organs peculiar to thct kingdom. In this process 
of digestion, the animal destroys the organic sub- 
stances and then throws off by respiip.tion, excretions, 
&c., the rude substances on which vegetables 
subsist. 

Again, their respiration is entirely different. 
Animal respiration is performed without intermission 
during life ; while light is indispensably necessary 
to the respiration of plants. If th is fact had received 
the attention to which it is entitled, much of the difii- 
culty attendii^g the examination of the fovilla chara, 
and other plants, which appeared to exhibit signs of 
anim^il life, would have been avoided, and the 
boundary between the two kingdoms settkd much 
earlier. The small movable chemical compound 
found in these vegetables, resembles the infusorial 
miimalcula^ and it was believed for a long time that 
they constituted the connecting link between the two 



COMPAEATIYE PHYSIOLOGY. 1 87 

kingdoms, and were in fact of both vegetable and 
animal cliaracter, and possessed the functions of both. 
More recently, however, it has been ascertained tiiar 
their action or motion is reguLitcd bj light, aad is 
wholly depexident on it, and thit when it is with- 
drawn they become stationary, thus resuming ilieir 
vegetable character. This moMon appears to t-3 the 
act merely of germination, effected under tho irSn- 
ence of light, as the germs never exhibit the phe- 
nomena the second time. 

This pl^enomena is explained bj Trcfessor Henry, 
in a Vc-ry satisfactory manner, and vfc will gire his 
views, in his own langii9..:je. . " In certain parts, pro- 
bably, of -dij plants, are found peculiar S]»iral lila- 
menaj, _L3V'ticv; a striking resemblance to the speniia- 
tozoa of i-..Li:n-iJs. They have been long known In the 
orgaits i-alled tha antheridia of mosses, hepaticx;, and 
charac{^:3, and have more recently been discoveri'l ir. 
peculiar cells rn the germinal frond of fernSj and on 
the very young- i eaves of the buds of phanerogamia, 
Tliey are found in ]_K3Cull.ii' cells, and when these are 
placed in water they are tor-B by the filament, which 
commences an active spiral uiotion. The Bigniilcation 
of these organs is at present quite unknovv^n ; they 
appear, from the researches of I^ageli, to j-esemblo 
the cell mucilage, or proto-plasma, in composition, 
and are developed from it. Schleiden regards them 



188 THE EESPLRATOEY Ts^:i^YES. 

as mere mucilaginous deposits, similar to those con- 
nected with the circulation in cells, and he contends 
that the movement of these bodies in water is analo- 
gous to the molecular motion of small particles of 
organic and inorganic substances, and depends on 
mechanical causes." 

But leaving this vexed question, we pass to tlin 
respiratory organ, which we find is different in eacli 
of the divisions of the vegetable kingdom, and also va 
the different grades of animal life. We v/ill also fiuiJ 
that each one of these organs is admirably adapted to 
the organism in which it is found. In man it is so 
constructed, that besides ministering to the oxygena 
tion of the blood, its primary office in the economy oi 
life, it becomes the instrument of voice and expres 
sion, two properties which have relation to his intel- 
lectual nature. The apparatus required for adaptiijg 
the oi'gan of breathing to these superadded cndinr- 
ments, is altogether different from that which is 
found in the lower animals, where the organ is sul)- 
sorv^icnt only to the purification of the blood. As a 
correspondence must exist between the structure of 
the different moving parts of the frame, and the 
nervous system which regulates tlie action of the 
body, the change in the construction of the organ is 
accompanied with a change in the arrangement of 
the nerves. Accordingly, a distinct class of nerves 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 189 

is appropriated in the human frame to the organ of 
respiration, called the respiratory nerves. 

Sir Charles Bell made a very careful examination 
of the nerves arising from the medulla oblongata^ and 
found that they were all distributed to those parts, 
which, together, form the organ of respiration. The 
portio dura is sent to the nostrils and mouth, and to 
the exterior orifices of the tube which leads to the 
lungs. The glosso-^haryngeol goes to the posterior 
openings of the nostrils, and to the upper j)aTt of the 
windpipe. The superior and inferior laryngeal 
nerves, branches of the par vagum, supply the 
larynx, which is the organ of voice. The par vagum 
then descends into the chest, and is distributed 
chiefly to the windj^ipe and lungs ; but branches of 
it extend to the heart. The spinal accessory nerve is 
sent to the muscles of the shoulders and neck, which 
combine with those of the chest in dilating the lungs. 
This mechanism is very different from that found in 
lower animals; and the reason is obvious. In the 
lower orders of animals the organ is limited to one 
function, that of oxygenating the blood, while in 
man it becomes the organ of voice and the instru- 
ment of articulate language. 

To regulate the action of the superadded mechan- 
ism, a new and distinct class of nerves becomes neces- 
sary. Something certainly, which must have been 
9' 



190 EESPERATOKY ORGAi^S 

provided and adapted to their office by a wisdom 
which foresaw the necessity of the \\arioiis parts. 
On an examination it was fonnd, that the new and 
distinct nerves were necessary and indispensable to 
man ; but that they were not so in the organization 
of the lower animals. In the higher organization, the 
first essential thing is, that the air for oxygenating 
the blood be received into a closed cavity, commnni- 
eating with the external atmosphere by a single tnbe ; 
the second is, that this cavity be capable of contract- 
ing on the volume of air within, so as to expel it 
along the tube with sufficient force to produce sound. 
This formation is never found in animals. 'No traces 
of a true chest and windpipe are found below the 
class vertebrata. In the lower animals there is nei- 
ther circulating system nor distinct respiratory organ. 
The first or lowest animal respiratory organ is merely 
a few prolongations of the integument of the animal 
in the shape of tufts or fringes, which float in the 
water, and thus expose the blood to the oxygen con- 
tained in that element. The Polype is an example 
of this class. The next formation of this organ 
is in the shape of small sacs within the animal in 
which the integument is folded inward upon itself. 
The apparatus in many insects is a modification of 
this structure. Eanged regularly along the sides of 
their bodies, there is a succession of holes, which are 



COMPABATTVE PHYSIOLOGY. 191 

the openings of a series of small tubes extending 
throngh their interior, by which means the air com- 
municates with the blood. Tlie next organization is 
that of the branchial or gills, found in fishes. Here 
we first find the mouth connected with the respiratory 
organ. This connection requires a new organization 
to expand and compress the chest, that the air may 
be received into and expelled from the chest. As we 
advance in the scale of animal existence, we find a 
new a23paratus of singular importance. This is a 
partition between the abdominal and thoracic cavi- 
ties, which stretches across from the lower border of 
the ribs on one side to the other ; and is known as 
the diaphragm. It circumscribes the space which 
contains the limgs, and thereby gives greater force to 
the expansion and contraction of those organs ; and 
acts as a powerful muscle of respiration in dilating 
the area of the chest. This organ is not found below 
the class mammalia ; nor is it needed in the lower 
classes. It acts with the most perfect harmony in 
connection with the superadded nerves found in man ; 
and it is by their combined and harmonious action 
that he is enabled to produce vocal sounds and arti- 
culate language. The respiratory mechanism of man 
corresponds with his superior endowments, and sup- 
plies him with an organ adapted to the great pur- 
poses of communicating thought and evolving the 



192 

powers of his mind ; the attribute by which he holds 
his exalted position in creation. 

According to Plato, in his " Protagoras," the igno- 
rance of Epimetheus would have left man '' naked 
and unshod, unbedded and unarmed," had it not 
been for the kindness of Prometheus, who stole tlie 
artificial wisdom of Yulcan and Minerva for him, 
which, together with fire, gave him a divine condi- 
tion, and enabled him to protect himself from the 
severity of the seasons and the ferocity of beasts. 
But he was not entirely superior until he had learned 
to articulate sounds and words, and received the gifts 
of " Shame and Justice " from Hermes, the author- 
ized agent of Jupiter. In physical power he cannot 
compare with the animal that bears his burthen or 
does his bidding. In these particulars the ox is his 
equal, and the ass his superior. Without these intel- 
lectual attributes he would be the weakest of all 
animals, and exposed to the attacks of the whole cata- 
logue of carnivora ; but with it his weakness becomes 
strength ; and the fiercest and wildest animals are 
subjugated, and all that are really necessary are forced 
into his service. 

Having been led in our remarks on the respiratory 
organs to notice the adaptation of the nerves, we will 
now invite attention to that subject in a more general 
way. The circulating system is efiected also, by the 



co:m:paratiye physiology. 193 

superadded mectianisin of the higher animals. As 
the respiratory organ approaches the perfection which 
it attains in man, the blood-vessels are divided into 
two distinct systems ; the one for pm-ifying the blood, 
and the other for distributing it over the body. 
Some of the most beautiful adaptations in the human 
system are connected with the circulation of the 
blood. As the act of respiration momentarily ob- 
structs the flow of blood into the veins, if it be 
strong, regm-gitation may be the result. It is obvious 
from this, that the veins may become congested, and 
be in great danger of serious injmy. The veins of 
the head leading to the brain and eyes, are protected 
from these dangers by an arrangement of the 
muscles of the neck, which cover and protect them. 
These muscles combine, in sympathy with the move- 
ments of the chest, so as to compress the veins where 
there is a tendency to regurgitation, and to remove 
the pressure when the chest is expanded. The orbic- 
iilaris^ which covers the eye, is a part of the same 
provision. It compresses the eye-ball when the chest 
is violently contracted ; by which means the veins at 
the back of the orbit are closed, preventing ingorge- 
ment of the fine branches which ramify on the deli- 
cate coats within. This is a distinct provision to pro- 
tect the eye from the danger of engorgement by 
violent respiration ; for this muscle is not found in 



194- ADAPTATION OF THE OEGANS. 

animals, where tlie respiratory organ acts feebly. 
There is a second beantifal arrangement to protect 
this delicate organ from engorgement or violent cir- 
culation, to which we mnst allude. The veins which 
ramify in the interior of the organ, between the deli- 
cate membranes that support the retina, make a cir 
cular sweep previous to entering the principal vein. 
This admirable structure breaks the force of a retro- 
grade current of blood, and gradually diffuses it over 
the membrane. 

We have given a few only of the many striking 
adaptations in the animal kingdom, which prove the 
intelligent action of the creating Powee. We cannot 
avoid alluding to another evidence of this character, 
partly on account of its peculiar force, and partly 
because it has been referred to for the same j^'Lii'p^s^ 
by the distinguished professors, Owen and Whewell. 
In the case of the kangaroo, the young animal is 
removed while very small from the womb to the 
pouch in which the teats are, where it is placed with 
its lips against one of the nipples. The young ani- 
mal, however, is not so large as the nipple, and there- 
fore cannot suckle in the usual manner. This difficulty 
is overcome by an appropriate contrivance^ which 
clearly proves original design. The nij)ple is pro- 
vided with a powerful extrusory muscle, by which 
the mother can inject the milk into the mouth of her 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. 195 

ofFspring. This muscle is not found in any other 
animal. To support or give attachment to this 
muscle, a new bone is necessarily introduced. Ano- 
ther difficulty, however, presents itself. What is 
there to prevent suffocation, when the milk is in- 
jected into the mouth of the young animal, without 
any muscular action on its own part ? This difficulty 
is avoided by another singular but appropriate con- 
trivance. There is a funnel in the back of the throat 
by which the air-passage is completely separated 
from the passage for nutriment, and the injected 
milk passes in a divided stream on each side of the 
larynx to the oesophagus; this prevents suffocation 
until the young animal is large enough to get along 
without it, and then it disappears. 

But, not only by these appropriate contrivances 
and beautiful adaptations, are we taught the error 
of these theorists, but by evidences of the impossi- 
bility of any transmutation of species. In the animal 
creation, as in the vegetable, there are distinctions 
between the various departments and classes, which 
forbid the idea of any connection. To take an obvi- 
ous instance, there is no middle class or department 
between the vertebral and the invertebral animals. 
In the vertebral the mass of the nervous system is 
included in a long cavity extending from the head 
down the hollow of the spine, while the bony parts 



196 DISTINGUISHING- FEATTJEES. 

are internal. In the in vertebral, the nervous cords 
run along the abdomen, and under the viscera ; not 
above, as in vertebrals ; while the hard parts are ex- 
ternal. But it is useless to point out distinctions ; 
there are in fact few, if any, parallel points. Each 
class and order is distinct from every other. So 
true is this, that the genus, and frequently the par- 
ticular species of a fish, may be told from the 
examination of a single scale. A bone, taken from 
any part of a skeleton, is generally sufficient to 
enable a skilful osteologist to distinguish the genus 
of the animal. Indeed, a single tooth will enable the 
son of science to distinguish the division of the mam- 
mal to which it belonged. 

Such marked distinctions, extending as they do, 
into the minutest parts of the animal, are incompatible 
with the theory of development, or the idea of trans- 
mutation. They are wholly irreconcilable with it ; 
because many of the distinctions are not indispen- 
sably necessary to the particular form in which they 
are found, and because they could not have resulted 
from any desire of the animal, or any disposition to 
accommodate itself to the surrounding circumstances. 

But we return to the difierences in the respiration 
of the two kingdoms, which exist not only in the 
formation of the respiratory organs, but also in the 
result of their respiration. Animals are constantly 



COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOaT. 197 

throwing off carbonic acid, which is necessary to 
vegetable growth, while the vegetable kingdom sup- 
plies animals with oxygen, which is equally import- 
ant to their existence. They are thus reciprocal in 
their offices of kindness, and by their mutual ex- 
changes contribute to the life and growth of each 
other. Decomposed animal matter aids the growth 
of plants ; and these in their turn support animal life. 
By vegetable mould the wasting action of running 
water is compensated in some degree, while the 
valleys are enriched, and the rents and chasms are 
filled up by their deposit. 

Finally, in concluding our remarks on this subject, 
we may add, that there appears little or no analogy 
between the two kingdoms of animate natm-e in the 
actions of nutrition and respiration ; and certainly 
none can be found in the organic apparatus which 
performs these functions. As none exists between 
the two kingdoms, or any of their members, so the 
members of each are distinct and independent in 
their organization. As we have just seen, the differ- 
ent products of their labor enable them to make con- 
tinual exchanges with each other, by which means 
they secm-e a counterbalance, and maintain an ad- 
mirable equilibrium in the midst of the disorder 
which seems inevitable, but which is never permitted 

to take place in the harmonious action of nature. 
9^ 



198 THE LAW OF EECIPEOCITT. 

Eeciprocitj, mutual exchange between the various 
members of this mighty family of organisms, is one 
of the first laws of life, written on matter by the stern 
hand of necessity. And in its operation we find all 
that is beautiful to the eye and dear to the heart. 
This connecting link, running as it does, through the 
whole of created matter, binding each separate body, 
and all the primordial elements in relations of depen- 
ency, is not only the triple tie of nature, but 
the beginning and source of innumerable blessings. 
Through this law, strength becomes the protection of 
weakness ; age of infancy ; and wisdom and purity 
are driven to the rescue of ignorance and corruption. 
The beautiful and tender relations of the domestic 
circle ; of husband and wife ; of parent and child ; 
in which the noblest affections of our nature are 
engaged, and our chief enjoyments are found, and all 
the ties and obligations of society, depend on and 
result from this law. In nature or the inanimate 
world, this law is equally important. Mountains are 
forced up by the igneous agencies within om* globe ; 
and rearing their lofty peaks into the colder regions 
above, carry up the floating vapors of the atmosphere, 
where they are condensed into rain and snow, which 
are precipitated on the valleys beneath them. These 
waters wash away portions of the soil, and would, if 



COMPAKATIYE PHYSIOLOGY. 199 

alone in their action, speedily change the surface of 
our globe ; but their influence is counterbalanced by 
the igneous agencies and the vegetable deposit, and 
thus all serious changes are avoided. The distant 
portions of the earth are forced into exchange by the 
diversity of climate ; and the ocean, by which they are 
separated, has been adapted to facilitate communica- 
tion between them, and made the means of knitting 
them together by the ties of commercial reciprocity. 

Thus, although the various organisms do not 
spring from each other, they are bound to each 
other in the most intimate relations, by an unalter- 
able law, which is not only the means of their con- 
tinued existence, but the foundation of their happi- 
ness. He only who is unable to discover the gran- 
deur and beauty of the relation, and the wisdom of 
the great Pkimaey Cause, is without the mighty 
circle which is cheered by the presence and warmed 
by the goodness of the Ckeatoe, and is not likely to 
share its ultimate blessings. 

" Happy is he who lives to understand — 
Not human nature only, but explores 
All natures — to the end that he may find 
The law that governs each ; and where begins 
The union, the partition where, that makes 
Kind and degree, among all visible beings ; 
The constitutions, powers, and faculties, 
Which they inherit — cannot step beyond 



200 CXTVLPwSAL LAW 

And cannot fall beneath : that do assign 
To every class its station and its office, 
Through all the might}' Commonwealth of things j 
Up from the creeping plant to sovereign man.' 



PAET V. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



"Within a short period of time, many of the 
important questions which pei'plexed the savan, and 
alarmed the theologian, have been settled. Phe- 
nomena profound and mysterious, extending from 
the microscopic world of wonders to the more aston- 
ishing revelations of the telescope, have yielded to the 
successive steps of knowledge. JSTew and interesting 
territories have been brought within the dominion of 
mind by the increase of instrumental power; and 
scenes of grandeur and beauty spread out before us, 
tending to elevate and ennoble our conceptions of 
the great and beneficent Architect, which is the 
natm-al and inevitable result of all faithful, scientific 
inquiiy. 

If we except Asti'onomy, no branch of knowledge 



202 THE EAETh's FIGrEE. 

has been more rapidly advanced within the last 
quarter of a centniy, than that connected with the 
physical geography of the globe we inhabit. In the 
apparently irregular figures and careless distribution 
of the continents, in which Paley could discover no 
evidences of original design, science has detected a 
systematic arrangement, sustaining a most intimate 
relation with all terrestrial phenomena, and highly 
important in the diffusion and development of vege- 
table and animal life. 

Independently of the relations our planet sustain& 
to the celestial bodies in the economy of the solar 
system, it is significantly marked with the evidences 
of harmony and design. And it matters not whether 
we contemplate the figures, division, and distribution 
of its continents ; the position and adaptation of its 
fertile valleys ; the character and arrangement of its 
mountain chains ; the number and chemical affinities 
of its constituent elements ; its atmosphere, orbit, 
axis, or rotary motion ; upon all, the same impressive 
lessons have been wiitten. 

The earth is an oblate spheroid, varying in its 
equatorial and polar diameters about one three-hun- 
dredth part of its greater diameter, or a little more 
than twenty-six miles. "Whether this is the figiu-e a 
fluid mass would natm-ally assume when revolving 
around a centre, is a question not necessarily con- 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 203 

nected with our subject. This difference in the 
equatorial and polar diameters, the existence of 
which has been demonstrated bj various methods, is 
comparatively small, but is, notwithstanding, a very 
important element in the economy of our globe. By 
it the solar rays are unequally distributed, and the 
temperature of the greater zones of the astronomical 
climate secured. Thus, in the earliest period of the 
world's existence, in the morning of its creation, 
according to the prevailing opinions and theories, we 
see the evidence of an intelligent and designing 
primary Cause written out on its spheroidal figure. 
And it is not important, so far as the inquiry itself is 
concerned, whether the centrifugal force of the re- 
volving fluid mass was the agent employed to secure 
it, which aj^pears most probable, or whether it was 
effected by abrasion and deposit, or by internal up- 
heaving forces, it is necesary in the economy of the 
world, and must have been designed to perform its 
part, and adapted to the physical relations it sustains. 
The spheroidal figure of the earth is connected 
with its diurnal revolution. The reciprocal attraction 
of the component particles of a fluid mass at rest, 
would produce a sioliere ', but the earth is not an 
exact sphere, therefore, it is not at rest. This is not 
the only^ and perhaps not the most satisfactory evi- 
dence of its motion. " It is," says Sir John Herschel, 



204 ZONES OF TEMPEEATTJEE. 

" in accordance with all the phenomena of the appa- 
rently diurnal motion of the heavens ; and, as they are 
explained by the suppositiQn of the earth's rotary 
motion, it has been adopted." To this motion of the 
earth we are indebted for an alternation of light and 
darkness, of labor and rest, corresponding with our 
physical necessities. It is also an indispensable ele- 
ment in the complex machinery by which the solar 
heat is measured out in due proportions to the various 
sections of our globe. This motion, and the effects 
of it, are more particularly described in the preced- 
ing section on " Astronomy," to which the reader is 
referred. 

The surface of this elliptical planet of ours is differ- 
ently affected by, as it is unequally exposed to, the 
solar rays, and therefore it has been divided for con- 
venience, into various zones of temperature. These 
would be uniform, were it not for the modifying in- 
fluences in natm'e, such as the contour and geogra- 
phical distribution of the continental masses, and the 
terrestrial elevations or reliefs ; which, in connection 
with the oceanic and aerial envelopes, secure, through 
the instrumentality of the infinitely multiplied physi- 
cal laws, those important modifications of temperature 
upon which the beauty and usefulness of so many 
sections of our globe depend. 

" The temperature," '^ays Baron von Humboldt, 



THYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 205 

" is raised by the proximity of a western coast, in the 
temperate zones ; by the divided configm-ation of a 
continent into peninsnlas, with deeply-indented bays 
and inland seas ; the prevalence of southerly or 
westerly winds : chains of mountains acting as pro- 
tecting walls against winds coming from colder 
regions ; the vicinity of the oceanic current, and the 
serenity of the sky in summer ; and that it is lowered 
by elevation above the seas, when hot forming part 
of an extended plain ; the compact configuration of a 
continent having no littoral curvatures or bays ; the 
vicinity of isolated peaks ; mountain chains, whose 
mural form and direction impede the access of warm 
winds ; and a cloudy summer sky, which weakens 
the effect of the solar rays." With a knowledge of 
these interesting and important facts (for which 
science is chiefly indebted to that most extraordinary 
man, to whose inherent love of knowledge, and philo- 
sophical observations, the secret chambers of nature 
seem to have been opened), we proceed to trace the 
distribution of these modifying agents. In them we 
shall be able to discover more perfectly and distinctly, 
the original design of the Lstfinite Authoe. 

By casting your eye over a correctly-marked globe, 
you will discover that a large proportion of the conti- 
nental element lies north of the equator, and that the 
oceanic elem^ent greatly predominates on the southern 



206 PEOPOETIOK" OF LA^-D AND WATER. 

side. Humboldt says, the area of the solid ^3 to that 
of the fluid parts of our globe, as one to two and four 
fifths. In round numbers, there are thirty-eight mil- 
lions of square miles of land ; two thirds of whi^h 
lie north of the equator. From the fortieth degree 
south latitude, to the Antarctic Pole, the earth is 
almost entirely covered with water. " The fluid 
element predominates in like manner between the 
eastern shores of the old and the western shores of 
the new continent. The southern and western hemi- 
spheres are, therefore, more rich in water than any 
other region of the whole earth." Here we see the 
proportion and distribution of the two elements ; but 
there is a third as important as either of these ; the 
atmosphere, " an elastic fluid," by which both of the 
former elements are surrounded. Through its agency, 
the reciprocal action of the land and sea is eflected. 
It constitutes the connecting link between them, by 
conveying the vapor of the one to the mountain 
chains and isolated peaks of the other, where it is 
collected and forced down their declivities, or con- 
densed and precipitated on their slopes and inter 
vening valleys, in the form of rain and snow. The 
climate of a country, therefore, is not the result solely 
of its geographical location, but depends on the rela- 
tive extension of the solid and fluid parts of our globe, 
and their action upon each other, which is variously 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 207 

affected by the terrestrial reliefs and local compen- 
sations. 

Leaving these for the present to trace the distribu- 
tion and configuration of the continents, we find 
that the eastern hemisphere has a much larger area 
of elevated land than the western, and that it has its 
greatest expansion from east to west, while the new 
continent has its greatest length from north to south. 
But notwithstanding the difference in the position of 
their major axis, there is a remarkable regularity in the 
general figures of the continents, and in the arrange- 
ment of their reliefs, w^hich seem to have been thrown 
up by some determinate power. We are indebted to 
the German physicists for much of all that is known 
of the analogies w^hich exist between the continents ; 
or, at least, for calling attention to them ; and parti- 
cularly are we indebted to Baron von Humboldt and 
Professor Guyot. The latter, by pointing out the 
remarkable adaptations in the relative expansion of 
land and water, and in the distribution, figures, and 
reliefs of the former, has converted " Science into a 
Christian teacher." 

It has been remarked that the continents are 
arranged in pairs, lying north and south of each 
other, and united together by a narrow isthmus. 
Although this is not strictly true, there is sufficient 
evidence to justify the remark. ISTorth and South 



208 CONNECTING ISLANDS. 

America sustain this relation to each other, but in 
the continents of the old world, Eni'ope and Africa 
only are connected in this way. Asia and Australia 
have a chain of islands between them, which may be 
considered as the elevated points of the connecting 
isthmus, the remainder being submerged. The next 
analogy presented in the different continental masses 
is the group of islands found east of their most south- 
ern points. " America has the Falkland Islands ; 
Africa has Madagascar and the Yolcanic Islands, 
which surround it ; Asia has Ceylon, and Australia 
has the the two great islands of New Zealand." A 
third analogy is marked by a deep inward curve of 
their western coasts. In America this inflection 
takes place along the coast of Bolivia ; the Gulf of 
Guinea represents it in Africa ; in Asia the Gulf of 
Cambaye and the Indo-Persian Sea ; and in Austra- 
lia it is seen in the Gulf of J^uyts. However forced 
these analogies may appear at first view, it wiU be 
found on examination that they nevertheless do really 
exist. 

There are, then, three pairs of continents ; two in 
the old, and one in the new world ; and these are 
divided into northern and southern members. Those 
of the south resemble each other, and the same may 
be said of the northern members ; but the northern 
differ very materially from the southern. These 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 209 

differences or diversities are of. the greatest import- 
ance. As the physical distinctions and varieties ex- 
isting between the oceanic and continental elements, 
by acting and reacting on each other, secure not only 
many important compensations in natm-e, bnt by 
giving life and vigor to each other, make one entire 
and perfect whole ; so the great variety of soil and 
climate enables the continents not only to relieve the 
poverty, but to increase the resources of each other, 
by a mutual exchange of products. The northern 
continents are uniformly wider than the southern, 
and attain their greatest expansion in the Arctic 
circle, becoming more and more narrow as they 
approach their southern associate. The southern 
continents, following a similar law, are widest at the 
north, and continuing to narrow as they approach the 
southern pole, finally terminate in high and rocky 
points. Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Cor- 
morin, and the Australian Cape, south of Yan 
Dieman's Land, are instances of their southern termi- 
nations. To this general arrangement of the conti- 
nental forms there is no exception. 

The northern continents contain nearly two thirds 
of the continental area ; according to Professor 
Guyot, they contain twenty-two and a half millions 
of square miles, while the southern contain sixteen 
and a third millions only. In tracing the charac- 



210 CONTINENTAL PECULIABITIES. 

teristics of each, we find the northern more indented, 
more articulated, and their contours, therefore, more 
varied. They are also enriched by inland seas and 
gulfs. The southern are more compact, have fewer 
indentations, and no inland seas. The northern con- 
tinents, therefore, are more maritime, more commer- 
cial, and infinitely better adapted to the development 
of the physical and intellectual powers, and social 
character of man. They are also nearer to each 
other, which encourages and secures a constant com- 
munication between them. The southern are smaller, 
and are widely separated from each other, and ap- 
pear designed to act a less important part than the 
larger and more highly-favored continental masses 
with which they are connected. The northern con- 
tinents are almost entirely in the temperate zones, 
while the southern are confined to the tropical and 
warm temperate zones. To these peculiarities of 
form, location, and relief, their characters must be 
ascribed ; not to any particular one of them. Their 
mutual action is as indispensably necessary in the 
operation of the vast machinery, which may be called 
the economy of the intellectual and moral develop- 
ment of man, as the concurrent action of land and 
water, and heat and cold, is to the constitution of a 
healthy and invigorating atmosphere. 

Their mountains are symmetrically arranged, and 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 211 

by their direction, height, and escarpments, mate- 
rially influence the temperatm'e of the continental 
climates. The principal chains of the old world 
follow the direction of the parallels ; while those of the 
new world take the direction of the meridian. The 
law, as in the case of the major axis, seems to be 
entirely different in the eastern and western con- 
tinents ; but in other matters the same economy is 
observed. The highest elevations of the continental 
masses, following the direction of the mountain 
chains, are uniformly located on the sides of the con- 
tinents, and not, as might be expected, at the centre. 
The mountains descend gradually towards the Atlan- 
tic and Frozen Oceans ; while their slopes are rapid 
and precipitous towards the Pacific and Indian 
Oceans. 

" K this order were reversed," says Professor 
Guyot, " and the elevation of the lands went on 
increasing toward the north, the most civilized half 
of the globe at the present, would be a frozen and 
uninhabitable desert." This disposition of the slopes 
is most uniform and remarkable. There is nothing 
in the formation of the continental masses better 
adapted to impress the mind with the idea of original 
design. Admit that the upheaving force resides 
within our globe ; that the irregular but ever active 
motion of the disturbed molten element at the centre, 



212 THE HIGHEST ELEYATIOJv'S. 

acting directly on the snrface, produced these eleva- 
tions ; jet how came this power to act so nniformlv 
and regularly ? How came the slopes and greatest 
elevations to be so perfectly adapted to the form and 
configuration of the continents, and to their various 
climatic relations ? The highest elevations are found 
near the tropics ; as the Himalaya in the twenty- 
seventh degree north latitude ; and iTevado de So- 
rato, in the sixteenth degree south latitude. The 
question naturally arises : Why are the greatest ele- 
vations on each side of the equator, and their dis- 
tances from it, so nearly corresponding to each other ? 
There is no physical law by which this question can 
be answered ; but herein we notice a most remark- 
able fact. It will be seen hereafter in our remarks 
on the oceanic element, that the greatest 23roportion 
of salt in the Pacific is in the parallels of nearly the 
same latitudes ; and that the saline principle increases 
gradually from the Poles to those points. These 
arrangements must have a connection with the 
climate, and must have been so ordered to lower the 
temperature thereof; for such is the effect of both. 

The continental masses, however, rise, as indicated 
by their slopes, gradually from the north and south, 
to the equator. The mean elevations of the northern 
and southern divisions most clearly establish this 
fact. Owing to the difference in the density of the 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHT. 213 

atmospliere at different altitudes, on which its capa- 
city for heat, and its radiating power depends, the 
temperature of the lower strata is always higher 
than the npper. This atmospheric law has been ob- 
served in the elevation of the southern continents. 
By this means the extreme heat of the equatorial 
regions is greatly modified. But this is not the only 
element made use of in effecting that important 
object. Baron Yon Humboldt estimates the mean 
relief of Europe at six hundred and seventy-one feet ; 
that of Asia, at one thousand one hundred and fifty- 
one ; that of ^North America at seven hundred and 
forty-eight ; that of South America at one thousand 
one hundred and thirty-two ; and that of Africa still 
higher. But the mean elevation of Europe depends 
in a great measure on the vast plains of Eussia and 
Poland, the massive plateau of Spain, and the Alpine 
chain. That of Asia is greatly increased by the ele- 
vation of her southern table-lands. Those of Thibet, 
which commence with an elevation of four thousand 
feet, and rise as they approach the south to the height 
of nearly twelve thousand feet ; and those of the 
Deccan, which, commencing with an elevation about 
equal to the northern portion of Thibet, run into, and 
are connected with the southern termination of the 
peninsula, which has an elevation of more than seven 

thousand feet above the level of the sea. 
10 



214 LOCAL COMPENSATIONS. 

TLese elevations and slopes are not only adapted 
to the astronomical climate, and the distribution of 
the fluid element, which clearly indicate an intelli- 
gent arrangement by the Creative Power ; but where 
their general disposition would produce an effect dif- 
ferent from the one we now see, and which appears 
adapted to the best interests of our race, its influence 
is controlled by special and local compensations. 
Thus, in the case of ISTorth America, the effect of the 
long northern slope, by which we are exposed to the 
polar currents of wind, and the influence of the Hocky 
Mountains, w^hich turn these currents back upon the 
Mississippi Yalley, is controlled in a great measure 
by the action of the immense chain of lakes on the 
north, over which these cmTents must pass, and the 
Gulf of Mexico on the south. This deep cut, as 
observed by Professor Guyot, opens the southern 
portion of our continent to the wet winds of the 
tropics. The return trade wdnds, coming directly 
from the sea, water the Atlantic coast, the western 
slope of the AUeganies, and the Yalley of the Mis- 
sissippi. Owing, therefore, to this " broad gate," we 
are more highly favored with rains than could be ex- 
pected from om- situation and continental reliefs. A 
different disposition of the Rocky Mountains would 
change the character of our climate and country. The 
Rocky Mountains and Gulf of Mexico act and react 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 215 

on each other, and are equally necessary in making 
up onr continental character. 

The longest slope of the Andes — which is one thou- 
sand eight hundred miles long, is eastward in its 
direction, and is abundantly watered by the trade 
winds of the Atlantic. The shortest, which is only 
seventy miles long, is to the west, and embraces the 
desert of Atacama. " Deprived of the vapors of the 
Atlantic by the Andes, these countries, (embracing 
the coast of the Pacific from Peruta Parina and 
Amatope to far beyond the tropics, from the equator 
to Chili,) behold the vapors of the Pacific flitting 
away with the trade wind, and no accidental breeze 
to bring them back." Brazil and Guiana are indebted 
to their secondary chains for their irrigation ; while 
Peru and IN'ew Granada are saved from the condition 
of Atacama by a depression of the Cordilleras. A 
similar depression, acting in conjunction with the 
continental form, secures a sufficient irrigation to Chili, 
by deflecting the ti-ade winds. Thus we see the effect 
of mountain chains, with their depressions and 
cmwes ; and how general laws are influenced and 
controlled by local aiTangements ; by which territo- 
ries, which otherwise would be useless, are fertilized 
and redeemed for the use of man. 

"Western Europe is indebted for the uniform tem- 
perate climate, which dintinguishes it from all other 



216 CLmATE OF EUEOPE. 

countries in corresponding latitudes, to its numerous 
seas and inland bays and lakes, its mountain cliains, 
and its location on the western side of the great con- 
tinent. The Alps, Pyrenees, Appennines, Carpa- 
thians, and Ural chain ; and the mountains of Swe- 
den and Xorwaj are so arranged as to j^i'otect the 
interior, while they contribute to keep the atmosphere 
humid and mild, by condensing the vapor so bounti- 
fully supplied by the ocean, Mediterranean, Black, 
Baltic, Adriatic, and Xorth Seas. The water on the 
north, free from ice, modifies the cold winds from 
that direction ; while its configuration ojDens its west- 
ern coast to the elevated temperature of the Gulf- 
stream. Its atmospheric temperature is also elevated 
by the heated currents of air rushing in from the 
tropical regions of Africa. This combination of in- 
fluences, to which western Europ)e is largely indebted, 
change its astronomical climate, and give it one 
which, notwithstanding its humidity, is almost un- 
rivalled. 

Sweden is a striking illustration of the influence of 
terrestrial reliefs. It lies between the fifty-fifth and 
seventieth degrees north latitude ; but it is protected 
from the northern currents of wind by its mountain- 
chains ; while its atmospheric temperature is greatly 
elevated by the waters or evaporation of the Baltic 
Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia on the south. It is owing 



PHYSICAL GKOGKAI^ill. 21T 

wholly to tliese facts, that thej are enabled to culti- 
vate the cereals so far to the north. It will be seen, 
from what has been said concerning the influence of 
the fluid element, that it tends to lower the mean 
annual temperature between the tropics, and to raise 
it in the higher latitudes ; which wdll be explained 
hereafter. The climate of the two worlds, the old 
and new, and of each continent, is the result of all 
the general features of configuration and relief ; 
which, we have seen, are adapted to the continental 
masses and their astronomical climate. 

The northern continents, except Asia, have a com- 
paratively low, mean elevation, although embracing 
immense elevated plateaux and mountain chains ; 
the first of which, together with the continental 
masses themselves, rise as they approach the south ; 
while the southern divisions, including Asia, have a 
high mean elevation. The necessity of this difference 
arises from their astronomical climate, and the atmo- 
spheric law of temperature to which we have alluded. 
But there is no physical cause for it. It is not con- 
nected with the elliptical figure of the earth ; nor did 
it result from the same cause. If so, the southern 
continents would present slopes corresponding with 
those of the northern. It may be possible that these 
differences were caused by forces similai" to those 
now acting on the coasts of Sweden and Finland ; 



218 impoeta:s"ce of the aeeangement. 

but if this be true, tbeir uniformity and importance, 
teach us that the agent thus employed, was obedient 
to some intelligent power to whom the concurrent 
influence of the various physical laws was foreknown. 
Sir Charles Lyell has most satisfactorily shown that 
continents and islands, having the same shape and 
relative dimensions as those now existing, might be 
placed so as to occupy either the equatorial or polar 
regions ; and it is equally clear that there is no phy- 
sical cause for their present arrangement. But the 
necessity of the arrangement seems to be WTitten 
upon every spear of grass, and opening flower, and 
breathing animal. ~Not a single island could be 
removed from the wide expanse of the ocean, without 
affecting the atmosphere, and no great continental 
change could take place, without writing its history in 
a change of vegetable and animal life. The elements 
would herald any change in the continental relations, 
with telegraphic speed, to the uttermost parts of the 
earth ; and sad indeed would the records of that 
change be. Yet, according to the best interpre- 
tion of geological phenomena, many of these changes 
have taken place in the preceding ages of our planet, 
the only history of which is written in the hiero- 
glyphics of the generations sacrificed by the changes, 
and buried in the strata to which they belonged. 
All the way up from the depths of the earth, these 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 219 

evidences are found ; thns coustituting a history writ- 
ten by the worm, the insect, and the fish, melancholy, 
indeed, yet more ancient and truthful, than any ever 
written by man. But their interpretation is due to 
his superior mental endowments, by which he is 
enabled to collect the scattered leaves of these dumb 
historians, and weave them into a mighty and myste- 
rious volume. 

This uniform elevation in the tomd zones, and de- 
pression of the sm'face at other localities, redeems 
large territories from the asti'onomical climate. In 
the torrid zones, where, without it, the earth would be 
a parched or dreary waste, a richness and variety of 
vegetable life is found, to which we are strangers. 
" Thus," says Humboldt, " it is given to man in 
those regions to behold, without quitting his native 
land, all the forms of vegetation dispersed over the 
globe, and all the shining worlds which stud the hea- 
venly vault from pole to pole." But he adds most 
appropriately, " In the frigid north, in the midst of 
the barren heath, the solitary student can a23propri- 
ate mentally all that has been discovered in the most 
distant regions, and can create within himself a world 
as free and imperishable as the spirit by which it is 
conceived." 'No one knows or has felt these truths 
more deeply than himself. He who envies the sons 
of the luxuriant South, may tirn with pleasure to this 



220 EFFECT OF ELEVATION. 

glorious compensation, and thankfully enjoy that 
which Providence has provided. 

The great Mexican plateau, although under a tro- 
pical sun, is blessed with a climate equal almost to 
that of Western Europe. A single day's journey 
from Yera Cruz, which is situated in the Tier'ra Cali- 
ente^ enables you to reach the regions of perpetual 
spring. The same arrangement is observable in the 
plains of Colombia in South America. " The con- 
trast," says Arnott, " is very striking, after sailing a 
thousand miles up the level river Magdalena, in a 
heat scarcely equalled in the jx^ains of India, all at 
once to climb to the table-land above, where Santa Fe 
de Bogota, the capital of the republic, is seen smiling 
over interminable plains that wear the livery of the 
fairest fields of Europe." 

Our first glance at the terrestrial surface, revealed 
the two great divisions of land and water, and their 
unequal distribution. Our next, the forms and rela- 
tions of the continents ; and our last, the effect of the 
elevations and local comj)ensations. The necessity 
of each of these will more fully appear as we trace 
the phenomena with which they are connected. But 
the cause of these important divisions, forms, reliefs, 
and connections, is inferential only; and must be 
learned, if learned at all, from their importance in the 
economy of nature, and their mutual and reciprocal 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 221 

agencies, which so harmoniously work out the great 
objects of their creation and arrangement. The ellip- 
tical figure of the earth is explained by its rotary 
motion ; but not so its continental divisions and 
contours. 

"All that we know regarding this subject," says 
Yon Humboldt, " resolves itself into this one point, 
that the active cause is subterranean — that the conti- 
nents did not rise at once in the form they now pre- 
sent, but were, as we have already observed, increased 
by degrees, by means of numerous oscillatory eleva- 
tions and depressions of the soil, or were formed, by 
the fusion of separate smaller continental masses." 
The geological formation of the earth's crust — the 
wide diffusion and elevated position of fossil shells, 
fishes and marine plants, and the present active forces 
exhibited on the coasts of Sweden and Finland, induce 
the belief that the process of elevation w^as gradual. 
And the existence of fossil plants and animals in 
northern portions of our globe, whose nature required 
a much warmer climate than the one in which they 
were found, favors the opinion that these upheavels 
have been sufficiently great to change the character of 
the continental climate. 

But when were these mighty changes effected? 

For more than two thousand years the earth's surface 

and size have not materially changed. If the whole 
10^ 



222 SPEINGS OF AJrriQUITY. 

mass were growing less by the gradual escape of in- 
ternal heat, and consequent shrinking of the bulk, or 
from any other cause, the time occupied in making a 
revolution on its axis would also change ; but this 
has not been the case. La Place, who contributed as 
much to the annals of science as any one since 'Nqw- 
ton's time, and whose only rival, as remarked by 
Professor Playfair, was the genius of the human race, 
concluded from the comparisons made dm^ing the 
period in which history has kept record of these mat- 
ters, that the sidereal day has not changed as much 
as one three hundredth of a second since the time of 
Hipparchus. And notwithstanding all the violent 
shocks of earthquakes to which Greece has been sub 
jected, and all the changes, if any, which the internal 
forces have produced, the springs of Hellenic anti- 
quity are still found at the same places. Erasinos, 
south of Argos, still refreshes the weary traveller; 
Saint I^icholas flows on beneath the temple of Apollo, 
as of old ; the crystal waters of Castalia still murmur 
in the shades of Phsedriadse ; and the hot springs of 
^dipsus, in which Sulla bathed, and those of Ther- 
mopylae, at the foot of (Eta, are used now as they 
were then. 'No change has disturbed the fountain 
from which they are supplied. Oth^r localities, how- 
ever, have experienced great changes. Pivers have 
been swallowed up, and mountains and volcanoes 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHT. 223 

have arisen in a single niglit, showing the power of 
the nneasy element within our planet. One instance 
of this character, w^hich excited mnch attention at the 
time it occniTed, is associated with one of the most 
melancholy histories of the age ; in which, as it is too 
frequently the case, the innocent and lovely suffered 
more intensely and deeply than the unfortunate, 
though guilty relative, by whose crime they were 
buried in inconsolable grief. Like the island, the 
historian of Sabrina is no more. Like it, he rose 
above the surrounding elements, and, after attracting 
the attention, and enjoying the respect of the learned 
and great, like it he sank amid the tempests and bil- 
lows, into the ocean below. The island of Sabrina, 
near St. Michael, which was about one mile in cir- 
cumference, rose above the sea in a short time, to the 
height of three hundred feet, but sunk back again 
after enjoying the solar rays for a few weeks. Thank 
Heaven, its surface blushed not at the morning sun 
as it took its sad farewell ; nor did it leave fond and 
loving kindred to mourn its untimely end. l^ature 
is free from these sad partings ; man makes them for 
himself. 

Sir Charles Lyell has attempted to relieve us from 
the difficulties these questions present, by showing 
the high probability of vast but gradual changes in 
the continental masses, by which the climate of 23ar- 



224: NECESSARY ARRANGEMENT. 

ticnlar regions have been wholly changed. All this 
may be, and most likely is true ; yet it does not affect 
the grand question involved. The uniformity of 
the continental arrangements, and the general and 
special adaptations of form and relief, together witli 
the various physical laws, which we have thus far 
pointed out, as strongly j^ersuade the mind that these 
beautifully adapted and necessary dispositions of land 
and water, of valley and mountain, did not result 
from the irregular and accidental force of indeter- 
minate powers. And when we connect them with the 
form of the earth, its axis and rotary motion, and its 
relation to and dependence on the sun, we discover a 
vast plan of mutually adapted elements, which, how- 
ever accidental in appeamnce, act in perfect harmony 
with the innumerable and profound phenomena of 
nature. This, if it were the only evidence, would be 
sufficient to convince the reflecting, that the con- 
tinents took their places, forms, and reliefs, obedient 
to the mandate of a power without and above the 
physical agents, which are employed to do the be- 
hests of the Creator. The earth may be molten at 
its centre, and the continents and terrestrial reliefs 
may have been thrown up by the agency of those 
internal fires. It is as easy for the Infinite Creator 
to operate in one way as another. Everything, how- 
ever, appears to, and does in fact, contribute to prove 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 225 

the subordinate and determinate action of ttie various 
physical agents, in their great work of preparing the 
world for the habitation of man. 



II. 



THE GREAT CENTRAL SOURCE OF HEAT. 

The Sun is the great central source of heat, as well 
as gravity. The vast and mysterious power it exerts 
in holding the distant planets in their orbits, is not 
more wonderful than the influence of its rays on the 
complex machinery by which the atmospheric tem- 
perature is regulated, and the uniform action of the 
laws of vegetable and animal life maintained. By it 
the winds are produced, and the heavens kindled 
with those electric displays, which are fearfully beau- 
tiful, but, like all other natural agents, are indis- 
pensably necessary in performing their mysterious 
offices in the economy of the system. By the vivify- 
ing: action of the sun, veo-etable life is sustained, and 
upon it animal life depends. Under its influence the 
sea circulates in the form of vapor, supplying water 
to the continental element. The temperature of the 
various parts of the earth's surface is governed mainly 
by the exposure of those parts to the solar rays ; that 
is, the time they are thus exposed, and the manner 



226 

ill which the rays are received ; whether vertically or 
obliquely. If the sun remain longer above the hori- 
zon of any place than below it, its tem^^erature will 
increase ; and so also will the temperature decrease 
if it remain longest below the horizon. We are 
nearer the sun dm-ing the winter than we are during 
the summer ; the diiference in the temperature of the 
seasons does not, therefore, depend on our variable 
distance from that luminary, but on the time the 
terrestrial surface is exposed to its rays, and the man- 
ner in which the rays are received. But this subject 
is fully explained in our chapter on Astronomy, to 
which we refer. These laws of adaptation are merely 
ministerial and secondary. The sun is the great 
agent ; its vivifying power touches the universe, and 
gladdened nature with its thousand varied tones of 
deep, yet mild rejoicing, and its sweetly blending 
hues of varied beauty, fills the wide S23read canopy 
with grateful and harmonious response. 

" There is the sun's pavilion, whence arising, 

Like a proud bridegroom, in his splendor drest, 
And with glad light the dewy earth surprising, 

A giant glad, he speeds him to the west. 
His going forth is from the orient heaven, 

And round he hies again to reach the goal ; 
The lowest earth feels his glad heat like leaven. 

Working mysterious ends from pole to pole.''' 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 227 

In connection with these laws, it will be fonnd that 
the j)roportion and distribution of the solid and fluid 
parts of our globe also contribute to the general re- 
sult. Professor Dove has shown that the mean tem- 
perature of the earth's surface is considerably greater 
in June than it is in December. The line of the sun 
during its perihelion passes over land less than one 
sixth part of its course ; the remainder it ]3asses over 
water. This arrangement has a very material effect 
on the mean heat, as shown by the professor. Land 
radiates the solar heat into the atmosphere much 
more rapidly than water. Water absorbs most of all 
it receives, while the land radiates it back into space. 
If this arrangement had been reversed, the propor- 
tion of land being the greatest under the sun's line 
during its perihelion, the whole climate must have 
been different. 

^Nearly the whole of the one sixth of land thus ex- 
posed, lies in Africa. The streams of warm air 
generated by the sun when passing over this part, 
have at some points only a short space to pass over 
the Mediterranean ; and where this sea is broadest, 
it weakens the heating power of the south winds so 
little, that they are felt as a hot sirocco through all 
Italy, up to the Tyrolese Alps. The westerly parts of 
Asia to the nnddle degree of latitude, are warmed in 



22'8 INFLUENCE OF RADIATION. 

the same way, and especially the East Indian pen- 
insula. 

The mild climate of Western Europe, as we have 
seen, is largely indebted to the same cause. From 
the immense influence of this one sixth of land, we 
can calculate with a degree of certainty, how indis- 
pensably necessary is the present distribution of land 
and water. Here under the burning climate of the 
equator, water has a cooling effect ; it absorbs the 
heat, and thus secures the atmosphere from that 
excess, which the land, if it predominated, would 
produce by radiation. The evaporation of the water 
also contributes to lessen the power of the sun's rays 
by the mists and clouds which it produces. In the 
operation of these laws, we cannot fail to discover the 
intimate relation and mutual dependence of the vari- 
ous agents in nature. ISTo one can be changed with- 
out affecting the whole. The atmospheric tempera- 
ture and the local climates, so essential to the growth 
of the different vegetables and plants, and to the full 
development of man himself, depend on the harmo- 
nious action and reaction of the various complex 
physical laws ; on the elliptical form of the earth ; 
its axis, and diurnal and annual motion ; the depth, 
pressure, and expansive power of the atmosphere ; the 
division, distribution, and configuration of the conti- 
nents ; the terrestrial reliefs, and the properties of the 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 229 

oceanic element. The ocean supplies the vapor bv 
which the continents are watered ; but were it not for 
the tendency of its saline contents, the amount of 
vapor given off would be much greater than it is ; suf- 
ficiently great, perhaps, to change the character of the 
whole atmosphere ; and hence the laws of life. The 
saline contents diminish the tendency to throw off 
vapor, and also lower the point of congelation, and 
therefore tend to keep the seas liquid. Experiments 
were made by Bladh, Kirwan, and Doctor Traill, on 
the specific gravity of the water in different places in 
the ocean, by which it appears that the saline contents 
increased gradually from the Poles towards the equa- 
tor. It has been ascertained, however, that the 
greatest proportion of salt is found in the parallels of 
the twenty-second degree north latitude, and the 
seventeenth degree south latitude. In this, as before 
observed, there is a singular agreement with the 
highest terrestrial elevations. Here is an agent 
almost concealed, but not less important than those 
stupendous continental reliefs which act so powerfully 
on the imagination and feelings of man. 

The ocean supplies the vapors, the winds bear 
them over the continents, and the mountain chains 
forcing them up into the higher and colder regions, 
act as condensers. But in these changes the sun is 
the great primary agent ; by it the winds are 



230 OCEAls^IC ELE]VIENTS. ■ 

created, and the vapor distilled from the waters of 
the ocean, which after performing various important 
offices to the vegetable and animal kingdoms, is again 
retm-ned to the ocean to commence anew its imceas- 
ing circulation. 

The oceanic element is much more constant in its 
temperature than the continental, and by communi- 
cating with the atmosphere above it, greatly modifies 
the climate of the latter. Water is not affected either 
bv heat or cold, to the same des-ree with the solid 
portion of the globe. In the first place it is a less 
susceptible conductor ; secondly, the evaporation, 
which increases in proportion to the intensity of the 
solar rays, has a cooling effect on the surface ; and 
thirdly, the unceasing motion and exchange which is 
kept up between the upper and lower strata, by 
which the heat or cold, as it may be, is communicated 
to its whole mass, causes a more gradual change of 
temperature, while its depth prevents extremes of 
any kind. The daily illumination of the sun warms 
the ground to a very limited depth ; while the same 
quantity of heat will penetrate, though with a de- 
creasing intensity, many fathoms of water ; thus the 
line of invariable temperature under the equator, is 
seven thousand two hundred feet below the surface. 
In the former instance the heat is condensed ; in the 
latter it is diffused throuo^h the whole mass. It has 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHl. 231 

been estimated, that the difference between the heat 
thus communicated, is as one to one hundred. And 
it is owing to these laws, together with the greater 
transparency of the continental atmosphere, and the 
inequalities of the terrestrial surface, by which radia- 
tion is increased, that the land cools more rapidly 
than the water. 

These differently heated surfaces have a propor- 
tionate effect on the atmosphere above them. Water 
gives out but little heat by radiation, while the land 
radiates the heat it receives freely into the surround- 
ing atmosphere. The difference in the heat thus 
radiated, is in the proportion of thirty to one ; that is, 
there are thirty times less heat radiated by the water 
than there is by the surrounding land. It is to this 
diurnal atmospheric distm-bance, that we are indebted 
for our local winds and pleasant sea breezes. But 
the evaporation of the water acts more freely on the 
temperatm-e of the air than its radiation does. And 
it is chiefly by this means that the oceanic element 
moderates both the heat and cold of the adjoining- 
land, and contributes generally to equalize the atmo- 
s^Aeric temperature. 

These two elements, although intimately related to 
each other, are unequally distributed, and come in 
contact at their margins only. Another element is 
therefore required to effect the exchange between 



232 THE atmosphkr;!:. 

them. The atmosphere is the medium and the winds 
which result from the distm'bance of its equilibrimii, 
are the agents employed for this pm-j^ose. The heated 
portions of air being lighter, rise, w^hile the colder 
and heavier currents rush in to take their place, pre- 
cisely as in the case of differently-heated particles of 
water in the ocean. This motion produces the wdnds, 
w^hich are more or less violent in proportion to the 
amount of atmospheric disturbance. This law is 
most beautifully illustrated by partially opening the 
door of a heated apartment communicating with a 
cold space, and holding a burning taper to the crevice 
or opening. If held at the top, the outward direction 
of the flame will indicate the presence of a current 
of air passing from- the apartment into the cooler 
atmosphere. If you move the taper down, the flame 
will become more and more upright, until, at the 
middle of the crevice, it will cease to be affected by 
either current. If now you continue to move it 
dow^nward, the flame will be driven inw^ard, thus 
showing that the heated air rises and flows out of the 
top, while the colder air enters at the bottom. 

This exchange is carried on between the tro23ical, 
temperate, and polar regions. The temperature of 
the tropics is always higher than that of any other 
portion of the globe ; hence the air is constantly 
ascending, while the heavier and colder particles of 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAWIY. 233 

the north rush along the surface of the earth to restore 
the equilibrium of the atmosphere. By this means, 
a constant interchange of air is kept up between the 
unequally heated sections of the earth's surface. 
Our local and irregular winds result from these 
atmospheric laws of temperature ; but the permanent 
and regular currents, however, dependent on the 
disturbance of the equilibrium, are governed in their 
direction by the rotary motion of the earth and the 
difference in the velocity of the polar and equatorial 
parts. This difference results from the elliptical 
figure of the earth. The trade-winds and monsoons 
are governed by this motion. They, like all other . 
winds, result from atmospheric disturbance ; but in 
their case the disturbances are regular, as they 
depend on the action of the sun on the unequally ex- 
posed portions of the earth's surface. Here we again 
discover the importance of the elliptical form of our 
planet. These winds, so important to the commercial 
interests of the world, are not only created by the un- 
equal exposure of the surface to the sun, which it 
causes, but their direction is determined by the dif- 
ferent velocities which result from it. If the polar 
and equatorial velocities were equal, these currents 
would be simply north and south winds; but the 
unequal velocity changes them into a northwest and 
southwest direction. The equatorial portion of the 



234- DIRECTION OF THE WINDS. 

earth's siirface has a much greater velocity of rota- 
tion than the polar ; the polar currents are. therefore, 
unable to keep up with the equatorial motion. Thus 
the direction of the north polar current is changed to 
the southwest, and that of the south pole to the 
northwest. The same cause changes the direction 
of the upper or equatorial currents to the northeast 
and southeast. They arrive at the north and south 
with a greater velocity than the earth's surface has at 
those points, and are, therefore, in advance of its 
motion. To this fact we are indebted for the wes- 
terly winds of the North Atlantic. 

The beneficial influences of these regular currents, 
and of the winds generally, cannot be estimated. 
Gratuitx)us accounts of the imaginary and wonderful, 
such as Dr. Thompson has interwoven with his more 
serious labors, are wholly unnecessary to excite a 
proper degree of interest in them. While such 
accounts amuse, and perhaps interest the general 
reader, they in some degree retard the progress of 
scientific inquiry. The winds restore the equilibrium 
of the atmosphere, upon the disturbance of which 
they depend ; distribute the vapor of the ocean ; pro- 
tect the tropics from the intense heat to which those 
regions are exposed, and by conveying the heated air 
and vapor north, greatly modify the climate there. 
In fact, they are the principal agents in effecting all 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 235 

important atmosplieric exchanges, and in carrjino- 
out the varions compensations on the surface of the 
globe. By them the bm^ning climate of Africa, sonth 
of the equator, is relieved in December, January, and 
February, when under the Yertical rays of the sun. 
During these months, cold currents from the Indies 
and upper Asia rush in to relieve these regions, while 
the reverse takes place when India and Asia are 
heated by the burning sun of the northern summer, 
and -Africa is cooled by the southern winter. And so 
the winds of the west and south-west, which prevail 
in the middle latitudes, soften the temperature of the 
western coasts of Europe and America. 

The trade winds, sweeping over the surface of the 
ocean from the Antarctic regions, first strike the 
coast of Chili in the parallels of thirty-five degrees 
south latitude, and advance along the coasts of Peru 
as far north as Cape Parina, when they turn suddenly 
westward, lowering the temperature of the regions 
through which they pass. Thus, as remarked by 
Baron Yon Humboldt, in his " Aspects of ]N"ature," the 
temperature of the Pacific on the coast near Lima is 
sixty degrees two minutes Fahrenheit, while in the same 
latitude, out of the current, it is seventy-nine degrees 
two minutes. Thus, it is found that this current low- 
ers the temperature of the atmosphere through which 
it passes nineteen degrees Fahrenheit. Such a cur- 



236 ATMOSPHERIC CURRENTS. 

rent must have a considerable eflect on tlie climate of 
an entire continent. In the equatorial regions, where 
the course of the temperature and winds is regular, 
that of the rains is equally so ; and instead of seasons 
of temj)erature, which are there unknown, the inhab- 
itants draw the distmguishing line between the dry 
and rainy seasons. " Whenever the trade-wind 
i)lows with its wonted regularity, the sky preserves a 
constant serenity and a deep azure blue, especially 
>vhen the sun is in the opposite hemisphere ; the air 
s dry and the atmosphere cloudless. But in proper 
^ion as the sun approaches the zenith the trade-wind 
^rows irregular, the sky assumes a whitish tint; it 
becomes overcast ; clouds appear, and sudden show- 
ers, accompanied with fierce storms, ensue." 

In these phenomena we cannot fail to recognise a 
most important arrangement. And, although the ef- 
fect of these inundating rains, in engendering the 
fevers of those countries, is most injurious, and, to 
many, fatal, the greater number protected by their 
influence will more than compensate the loss. "When 
we recollect the immense influence of an interp»osing 
vapor in weakening the intensity of the solar rays, we 
may with propriety inquire, whether the thick vapor 
in which the inhabitants are enveloped, at the time 
when the solar influence is greatest, does not protect 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 237 

them from dangers infinitelj more to be di^aded than 
the endemical fevers, however fatal they may be. 

These rains and winds are also indispensable to the 
vegetation of those regions. The quantity of vapor in 
the atmosphere de|)end3 on the intensity of the solar 
rays ; it is therefore always more abmidant in the 
tropical atmosj)here. This is one of the canses of the 
luxuriance of the tropical vegetation. But were it 
not for the almost inexhaustible supply of water de- 
posited in the rivers and lagoons of those regions, by 
the annual rains, the moisture in the atmosphere 
would be insufficient to supply the vegetable king- 
dom. A failure of rain in the temperate climates for 
a few weeks only will cause the greatest injury. TTho 
has not often seen the parched and withered vegeta- 
tion of our own country, in seasons of drought, with 
indescribable feelings of sadness, and watched the 
gathering cloud with thankfulness of heart ? Thus 
we see the importance of the winds in effecting an 
exchange of temperature between the equatorial and 
polar regions, and in modifying the various climates 
of the earth. But if the capacity of the air were 
greater than it is, its temperature would be less easily 
affected by the solar rays, and this circulation, so es- 
sential to both hemispheres, partially if not entirely 
destroyed; while, if the capacity of the heat were 

less, the pleasant and refreshing winds, so important 
11 



23 S MUTUAL EXCHANGE. 

in knitting together the various nations of the earth 
by the bonds of recijDrocal beneficence, would become 
the most fearful as-ents of destruction. There is in- 
deed a most intimate connection between the multi- 
plied physical laws with which man has made himself 
acquainted ; a perfect and unbroken chain, extending 
through and around the wide domain of the infinite 
Creatok ; and not a link in all this vast chain can be 
withdrawn or broken without a fearful disturbance of 
the w^hole. 

The winds keep up the circulation in the atmos- 
phere, and restore its equilibrium, and the oceanic 
currents, w^hich in some degree depend on them, 
perform the same office for that element. By these 
currents the exchange of warm and cold water from 
the differently heated regions is effected. It is not 
om- object to attempt to trace these or any other phe- 
nomena to their primary cause, further than it becomes 
necessary to connect them together, and show the 
mutual adaptation and concurrent action of the whole ; 
much less do we desire to enter on controverted terri- 
tory for the purpose of disputation ; but with all due 
respect for authority, we suggest the possibility that 
too much importance has been given to the unequal 
temperatures of the tropical and polar seas, in ex- 
plaining the oceanic currents. Much, undoubtedly, 
is due to the general tendency of fluids to maintain 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 239 

an equilibrium, but we do not consider this " the more 
profound and irresistible cause." 

If the rapidity of these deep currents cannot be 
explained by the motion of the winds, they must re- 
sult from some cause more powerful than that by 
which the winds are produced. It is true the sun has 
a most powerful influence in warming the oceans. 
Under the equator, the line of constant temperature is 
seven thousand two hundred feet below the surface. 
The Gulf Stream maintains its elevated temperature 
for more than one thousand feet below the surface. 
But the atmosphere is more elastic, is easier affected 
by the solar rays, receives heat, not only from the 
rays as they pass through it, but by radiation from 
the earth. The water loses part of the heat it receives 
by evaporation and radiation, while the depth of the 
ocean prevents the solar rays from penetrating to 
the bottom. Thus the line of constant temperature is 
at variable depths. At fifty-five degrees eighteen 
minutes, south latitude, longitude one hundred and 
forty-nine degrees twenty minutes west. Sir J. C. Eoss 
found it at six hundred fathoms ; at forty-nine de- 
grees seventeen minutes, south latitude, longitude one 
hundred and seventy-two degrees eighteen minutes 
west, it sinks to nine hundred fathoms ; while at the 
equator the same distinguished explorer found it at 
the depth of twelve hundred fathoms. From these 



240 AUTHOEITr DOUBTED. 

examinations he amvecl at the conclnsion, that there 
is a belt or circle aronnd the eartli. where the mean 
temperature of the sea obtains throughout its entire 
depth, which is about fifty-six degrees fourteen min- 
utes south latitude. This, as he observes, constitutes a 
neutral ground. That portion which is heated by the 
solar rays imparts heat to the underlayers by an ex- 
change of particles. The sun, therefore, cannot act 
so powerfully and promptly on the oceanic element 
as on the atmospheric. If then these phenomena re- 
sult from the same cause {i. e. a disturbance of the 
equilibrium of the two elements), the oceanic currents 
would not be greater, more powerful, or rapid, than 
the atmospheric currents. But they are, and there- 
fore must have "a more profound and irresistible 
cause" than the mere tendency to restore the equilib- 
rium. For these reasons, we adopt the opinion of 
Baron Yon Humboldt ; that the oceanic currents de- 
pend conjointly upon various causes ; on the tides ; 
the duration and intensity of prevailing winds ; the 
modifications of density and specific gravity which the 
particles of water undergo, in consequence of the dif- 
ferences in the temperature, and in the relative quan- 
tity of saline contents at different latitudes and depths ; 
and lastly, the horary variations of the atmospheric 
pressm-e successively propagated from east to west, 
and occurring with such regularity in the tropics. 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHT. 241 

These currents have a great infliience on tlie conti- 
nental climates. The climates of Chili and Peru are, 
as we have observed, considerably cooled by the ant- 
arctic polar cm-rent of wind ; but the entire effect is 
the joint result of the atmospheric and oceanic cm-- 
rents, which rush in from the same point. A branch 
of the equatorial current, after passing round Guiana 
and the Caribbean Sea, forces itself between Cape 
Catoche and Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico, and after 
making the circuit of the Gulf, passes out between 
Florida and Cuba, and continues its course, under a 
new name, along our coast as far as Newfoundland, 
eles'ating the temperature of the whole coast. This 
cuiTent is deflected from that point to the eastward, 
and finally reaches the coast of Africa. A portion of 
its V7arm waters is carried to western Europe by the 
prevailing winds, and contributes to soften the cli- 
mate there. These currents are ever active, and con- 
trast strongly with the distm-bed waters through 
which they pass. Guided by some irresistible power, 
they pursue their course through the agitated ele- 
ment which surrounds them, unmindful of the 
storms that impede their progress, but cannot defeat 
their end. 

By retracing our steps, we find that the vari- 
ous zones of the astronomical climate are caused 
by the elliptical figure of the earth, by reason of 



242 ALL THINGS OBEDIENT. 

wliich the surface is unequally exposed to the solar 
rajs, other elements of course contributing to the 
result; and that the isothermal, isocheminal and 
isotheral lines, would be uniformly parallel to each 
other over the whole terrestrial surface, were it not 
for the division, distribution, and contour, of the con- 
tinents, their moimtains or reliefs, and the unequal 
absorbing and radiating powers of the surface. But 
as the beauty and fertility of large sections of the 
globe depend on the special provisions for the 
advantages which their location otherwise would 
have denied them, we find they have been pro- 
vided in the arrangement and adaptations of the fluid 
and solid portions of the earth. The grand object 
contemplated by the Infinite Mind is stamped inde- 
libly on every part of the universe, and all the par- 
ticles, however affected by the laws of matter, contri- 
bute to the final result. If a plateau is necessary to 
water the valley, it rises at the bidding of the Eteenal. 
If the geographical form and position of a continent 
require a mountain chain to condense the passing 
vapor, it rises also at the same Almighty bidding. 
If a gulf is needed to modify the climate of a conti- 
nent, and counteract the infiuence of the terrestrial 
reliefs, the hills are rolled back and the gulf appears. 
Can it be said that all these local and important 
agents, acting so haiTQoniously with the mysterious 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAiflY. 243 

forces that pervade the uniYerse, are the offspring of 
chance? That the terrestrial reliefs, acting so va- 
riously on the local climates, on which so much of 
life and beauty depend, are the accidental results of 
indeterminate internal powers ? 

The mind is not so much affected by the grandeur 
of any single phenomenon, however important, as it 
is by the harmonious action of different and appa- 
rently conflicting elements. It is this intimate and 
indispensable relation which exists between the 
greatest and the smallest of created beings, — ^between 
the animate and inanimate worlds ; this action and 
reaction upon each other, by which the end is accom- 
plished; and the special provisions, modifying or 
wholly defeating the action of general laws, where 
the interests of our species require it, that tend most 
strongly to direct the inquiring mind upward to the 
Infinite and Eternal, for a revelation of the hidden 
cause. 

But if we look at the general result of the division 
of the earth's surface into zones of temperature, we 
will find a most favorable condition. The torrid 
zone stretches from the equator to the tropics, embrac- 
ing an area of seventy-seven millions seven hundred 
thousand square miles. _ The temperate zones, extend- 
ing from the tropics to the polar circles, embrace fifty 
millions square miles in each hemisphere, making 



244 LOCAL COMPEN-SATIONS. 

together one hundred millions. This area embraces 
at least three fourths of the continental element. 
The polar or frozen zones contain only eight millions 
square miles each ; and even this small and unfavored 
circle is inhabitable. Owing to the compensations 
in Sweden, the cereals are cultivated beyond the 
polar circle. Less, therefore, than one eleventh j)art 
of the earth's surface is beyond the vivifying influ- 
ence of the solar rays. And we have seen how small 
a portion of the continental mass is exposed to the 
vertical rays of the sun when at its highest ]3oint, and 
how that portion is partially protected by the inter- 
posing mists and clouds, caused by a rapid evapora- 
tion ; by the isolated mountain peaks, from which 
the cold air rushes down; the general. elevation, and 
the luxuriant vegetation, which keeps the atmosphere 
more humid, and cools the surface of the earth by 
its moisture and shade. 

Such is the general result of the terrestrial divisions, 
modified by atmospheric laws and continental reliefs. 
But by what power were these divisions and arrange- 
ments made, if not by an intelligent Ckeatok. TTe 
have seen that the continental arrangement into 
pairs, and these again into particular forms, marked- 
by similar curves and relieved by elevated plateaux 
and mountain chains ; by gulfs and inland seas, are 
indispensably necessary to the existence of the varied 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 246 

life wMcli abounds on our planet, and that all these 
elements' are adapted to each other ; and last, and 
perhaps not least important, are also adapted to the 
astronomical and local climates in which they are 
found. The question of Power naturally presents 
itself; what authoritative power presided over the 
internal forces of the earth, when the dry lands were 
forced up out of the surrounding sea, to their present 
position ? There is no physical law by which they 
can be explained, ^o natural cause for the particu- 
lar division and arrangement of the continental ele- 
ment, to be found in the wide range of human know- 
ledge. For aught we know, or aught that appears to 
man, the continents might have been gathered around 
the poles, or collected under the equator. They 
might have been thrown up in one solid mass ; or 
scattered over the surface of the ocean, in small and 
insignificant islands. The great mountain chains 
might have been forced wp in the north temperate 
zones, and the equatorial regions sunk dov/n to the 
level of the ocean. . Yet any of these conditions 
would have changed the relations of the continental 
masses, and more or less affected the entire climate, 
as well as the vegetable and animal life of the globe, 
l!Tot a single change could now be made without 
planting the seeds of disease and death in some por- 
tion of animate creation. 
11^ 



^46 ACTION OF THE INTERNAL EOECES. 

This great controlling power appears to have acted 
uniformly and intelligibly in every instance. The 
local reliefs are thrown np only where they are re- 
quired to fit the territory or continent for the great 
ends contemplated. The astronomical climate is 
modifie'd, wherever a modification secures some im- 
portant object, and there only. The elements and 
atmospheric laws depend upon the division and 
arrangement of the fiuids and solids of our globe ; yet 
the}^ act in harmony with each other, however widely 
sej^arated they may be. Through the laws of expan- 
sion and contraction, of heat and cold, the sea cools 
the climate of the torrid zone, and warms it in the 
cold, temperate, and frigid zones ; and according to 
these laws, the continents have been arranged. The 
continents are .narrow and greatly elevated in the 
equatorial regions ; and low and divided, with, deep 
bays and inland seas in the higher latitudes.- The 
various climates of the earth, on which the great 
variety of vegetable and animal life depends, result 
from the concurrent action of these natural agents. 
All are important, and all are intimately connected 
with the division, distribution, contours, and reliefs of 
the continents. One irregular or convulsive move- 
ment of the might}^, upheaving, internal power, by 
which it is supposed the terrestrial reliefs and conti- 
nental elevations have been produced, would unsettle 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 247 

the physieal relations which exist, and mjre or less 
disturb the harmonious action of the varied forces of 
natiu-e. Thns, the very confusion and irregularity of 
the continental masses, scattered apparently withont 
any object over the sui-face of onr planet, may be 
resolved into an intelligible narrative of their own 
creation. 



in. 

THE ATMOSPHEKE. 

We have repeatedly allnded to the atmosphere, 
bnt we have nowhere given it the consideration to 
which it is entitled in a work of this character. It is, 
as we have seen, intimately connected with the most 
important tellmic phenomena. Out of it the carbon, 
indispensable to the vegetable kingdom, is elabo- 
rated, and from it animals, by the operation of their 
lungs, abstract the oxygen, by which their blood is 
purified. And in this, as in everything else, there is 
a mutual exchanD-e between the two kino-doms. There 
is a constant exchange of gases going on between 
them ; but the solar light is necessary to effect the 
exchange. A full exchange could not be effected 
without it. Plants cease then- labor at night, and 
may be said to sleep as well as animals ; at this time 



21S nrpoETA^'CE of the atmosphzee. 

no excliange can take place, for the action of vegeta 
bles is not STifficient xo tlirc-w off the gas reqnii-ed 
oy animals. The solai' light* therefore, is a necessaiy 
element in this exchange. But there ai*e exceptions 
in the vegetable kingdom : some plants are most 
active during the night, choosing its silence and 
gloom for the opening of their flowei's, and sending np 
theii' fi'agi*ance rather to the midnight stars, than to 
the noonday busy world of sentient beings. 

The atmosphere is the mediiun thi'ongh which 
sound is transmitted, and on its reiiective and dis- 
persive properties the solar light depends. Without 
it, objects conld be seen only in the dii-ect rays. 
*• Every shadow of a passing clond wonld be pitchy 
darkness : the stars would be visible all day. and 
every ajrtai'tment into which the snn had not direct 
admission wonld be involved in noctm-nal obscmity." 
These powers of the atmosphere are increased by the 
action of the solar rays, which produce an in-egn- 
larity in the temperature of the different masses of 
air. Thus, the atmosphere is necessary to diffase the 
solar light in an agreeable manner, and to mitigate 
its intensity. Without it we should have nothing but 
the glare of intense stmshine. or the most impene- 
trable darkness. It is not only necessary in these 
inipcirtant offices, but also to the more exalted facul 
ties of man. Supposing we could live in its absence, 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAFHT. 349 

whicli is imjDOSsible, we should possess our organs of 
speech and hearing in vain, no matter how perfect 
they might be. •' Yoice we might have, but no word 
conld we utter ; listeners we might be. but no sound 
could we hear. The earth would present itself to oui 
imaginations as a soundless desert." 

It retains and diffuses heat, whether from the sun 
above or from internal som-ces. By these means, the 
temperatm-e of the seasons is regulated, and the seas 
kept liquid. In this, however, its pressm-e is an im- 
portant element. Were it not for the atmospheric 
pressure, oui' globe would be sm-rounded with a thick 
vapor. This pressm-e is necessary also to all organized 
bodies composed of solids and fluids. At, great 
heights, where it is less, difficulties are always expe- 
rienced by the adventiu-ous ti*aveller. Xearly all the 
yoimg Americans who attempted to ascend Popo- 
catepetl, which has an elevation of seventeen thou- 
sand seven hundred and twenty feet above the sea, 
were compelled to retm-n long before they reached 
the highest point. They experienced great difficulty 
in breathing, and in a few instances the blood oozed 
out of their lips. This resulted from the want of at- 
mospheric pressm'e, which at that great height was 
not sufficient to regulate the elasticity or expansive 
power of the fluid portion of the body. The atmos- 
pheric pressure is so small, says Humboldt, in his 



250 ATMOSPHEEIC PEESSIIRE. 

Asjpects of Nature^ at an elevation of thirteen thou- 
sand fonr hnndred and twentj-three feet, on the pla- 
teau of Antisana, that the cattle, when hunted with 
dogs, bleed from the nose and mouth. Herr Yon 
Tschudi, referred* to by Humboldt in the work just 
mentioned, thinks the death of the dogs and cats, in 
the elevated town of Cerro de Pasco, is the conse- 
quence of the absence of sufficient atmospheric pres- 
sure. " Innumerable attempts have been made to 
keep cats in this town, which is fourteen thousand 
and one hundred feet above the level of the sea, but 
such attempts have always failed ; both cats and dogs 
die at the end of a few days, in fits. The cats are 
taken at first with convulsive movements, when they 
try to climb, but soon fall back, exhausted and mo- 
tionless, and die." 

The atmospheric pressure is necessary also to the 
vegetable kingdom. Plants depend on the atmos- 
phere, as well as animals ; and are therefore provided 
with porous openings in their leaves. They have a 
kind of respiratory system connected with their ex- 
ternal and internal coverings, which is quite as im- 
portant to them in the evaporation, inhalation, and 
exhalation of their fluids, as these functions are to 
animals ; for the elasticity of their fluids depends as 
much npon the atmospheric pressure as that of ani- 
mal fluids. It is owing to this fact, that the Alpine 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 251 

plants are adapted, by their more abundant pores, to 
their elevated position, and cannot be snccessfully 
cultivated in the low grounds. The increased pres- 
sure disturbs these vital functions, and, sooner or 
later, destroys their action. This pressure, then, is as 
essential to life as the gases on which it depends. In 
the physical, as well as in our moral natiu-e, certain 
restraints are necessary. When the first are removed, 
or, when we are placed above the -restraining pres- 
sure, the fluids of the body burst the delicate vessels, 
which are no longer able to restrain their elasticity ; 
and also, when the " interior power gives up its au- 
thority, the animal and the sensual take the place of 
the human and the spiritual." 

The tops of our highest mountains are covered 
prepetually with snow; thus proving the fact, that 
the solar rays would not be sufficient without the aid 
of the atmosphere, to prevent a universal destruc- 
tion of life. Without the atmosphere, the earth would 
be as barren and lifeless as the moon appears to be ; 
yet it is not essential to any of the great mechanical 
functions of our planet in the economy of the solar 
system. The earth would perform its regular revolu- 
tions, maintain its axis, and discharge all its various 
offices in the system of which it is a member, without 
this envelope, but it would be an arid waste ; vol- 
canoes it might have, but no cities for destruction ; 



252 COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 

mountains and valleys might diversify its surface, 
but they would be unenlivened by the murmur of 
streams, or the music of animate nature. If there 
were no physical necessity for it, these facts most 
clearly show that it must have been designed to per- 
form the important oifices to which we have alluded. 
The atmosphere is also important in connecting 
remote climates, and effecting mutual exchanges 
between them, by which their extremes are greatly 
modified. 

This important appendage or envelope is depen- 
dent on a thousand agents for its elementary parts. 
Each thing acts upon everything else, and all are 
bound together by relations and dependencies which 
pervade the universe. Yolcanoes and warm springs ; 
decomposing rocks, and decaying vegetable and ani- 
mal matter ; the respiration of animals and the com- 
bustion of the various articles of fuel, keep up the 
supply of carbon, so important to the vegetable king- 
dom ; while the respiration of j^l^iits and various 
other natural agents, maintain the proportion of oxy- 
gen, upon which animal life depends. The alkalies 
are found in all felspathic and other rocks of igneous 
origin ; from w^hich they are disengaged by the action 
of the atmosphere and water. Had they been de- 
posited in the earth, or in any easily soluble form, 
they would have been washed away in a short time. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 253 

But, deposited as they are, the action of the elements 
is just sufficient to keep up the necessary supply. 

In the new edition of Professor Daubeny's Work on 
Volcanoes, recently published, he says : " Potash, 
soda, certain earthy phosphates, lime and magnesia, 
must be present wherever a healthy vegetation pro- 
ceeds. ITow, some of these bodies are naturally inso- 
luble in water, while others are dissolved with such 
readiness, that any conceivable supply of them, in 
their isolated condition, would be speedily carried off 
and find its way into the ocean. The first, therefore, 
must be rendered more soluble, the latter less so, than 
they are by themselves. ISTow, the manner in which 
nature has availed herself of the instrumentality of 
volcanoes to effect both these opposite purposes, is 
equally beautiful and simple. She has, in the first 
place, brought to the surface, in the form of lava and 
trachyte, vast masses of matter containing the alka- 
lies, lime and magnesia, in what I have termed a dor- 
mant condition ; that is, so united by the force of 
cohesion and of chemical affinity as not to be readily 
disengaged and carried off by the water. . . . She 
has also provided, in the carbonic acid, which is so 
copiously evolved from volcanoes, and which conse- 
quently impregnates the springs, in these very coun- 
tries, more particularly where volcanic products are 
found, an agent capable, as completely as muriatic 



254 ALKALIES A^B PHOSPHAl-ES. 

acid, Ihougli more slowly, of acting upon these rocks, 
of separating the alkalies and alkaline earths, and of 
presenting them to the vessels of plants in a condition 
in which they can be assimilated. Thns every volca- 
nic as well as every granitic rock contains a store- 
house of alkali for the future exigencies of the vegeta- 
ble world ; while the former is also charged with 
those principles which are often wanting in granite, 
but which are no less essential to many plants. I 
mean lime and mao-nesia. Had the alkalies been 
]3resent in the ground in beds or isolated masses, they 
would have been speedily washed away, and the vege- 
tables that require them would by this time have 
been restricted to the immediate vicinity of the 
ocean." But, notwithstanding this beautiful provi- 
sion, large quantities of the alkalies and phosphates 
are annually carried into the ocean, where they are 
held in solution. These are collected, by another ar- 
rangement, which though more humble in its char- 
acter, is not less beautiful. It is done through the 
agency of the alg'ce, or sea-weeds, which occupy the 
lowest place in the vegetable kingdom ; but yet, are 
used in an important office in the economy of nature. 
These weeds are seen clino^ino-to the rocks, orfloatino^ 
along the coasts, as idle vagrants of the deep, but 
they are not idle, or useless. The alkalies and phos- 
phates held in solution by the salt water, are collected 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 255 

by them and deposited on the coasts, where they be- 
come useful, and, in many pLaces, as in the north of 
Scotland, indispensably necessary. By the manure 
supplied by the decaying algae the peaty and waste 
soils are made productive, and potatoes are raised in 
'arge quantities, where without it nothing could be 
produced. It is, indeed, a strange and melancholy 
sight, to see the thousands of poor people hurrying 
and driving along the coast at low tide, contending 
for these tangled weeds, upon which their very exist- 
ence depends, with the fierceness of petty politicians, 
and not unfrequently their meanness. 

The algae are most beautifully adapted to the ofiice 
they perform. Other vegetables are stationary, and 
derive their nourishment from the soil in which they 
are rooted and the atmosj)here surrounding them; 
but the algae have no roots. They have simple pro- 
cesses, or hooks only, with which they cling to the 
rocks. They derive their nourishment from the alka- 
lies and phosphates held in solution in the salt water ; 
and not from the soil, for with this they have no con- 
nection. The plant is kept up, and the branches and 
leaves expanded by means of air-bags, which are pe- 
culiar to this family. By these air-bags the specific 
gravity of the plant is lessened ; and thus, it is kept 
floating around the ocean, and brought in contact 
with the alkalies and phosphates which it collects. 



266 SUPPLY OF GASES. 

Turning again to the subject of volcanoes ; we find 
that they also supply nitrogen and carbon ; the first 
in ammonia, and the last in carbonic acid. By this 
carbonic acid the rocks are decomposed and their fer- 
tilizing materials liberated ; it also produces new 
limestone rocks, which compensate for those converted 
into silicates by volcanic heat in the interior, and aids 
in purifying the atmosphere, through its decomposi- 
tion, by the respiration of plants. It is thus that 
these mighty agents of destruction, which seem the 
real antagonists of life, are in fact the appointed 
means for supplying the materials out of which all 
organized bodies are fashioned. Warm and mineral 
springs also contribute to the proportion of the gases, 
without which life could not continue. These various 
agents are connected with the interior of our globe ; 
and as they supply the gases which nature is most 
constantly demanding, it may be inferred that the 
earth contains within itself a sufficiency for all future 
periods. These gases have an intimate connection 
with animal and vegetable life, and depend in some 
degree on the relative proportion of the two king- 
doms. Their unequal distribution is corrected by the 
circulation of the winds ; by which the excess of oxy- 
gen is carried from the tropical regions to the higher 
latitudes, and the surplus carbonic acid is conveyed 
from the higher latitudes to the tropical forests. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 257 

Thus throughout the whole universe, we find an 
aninteiTupted chain of relations and dependencies. 
We liv^e not for ourselves, but for every one — for 
everything else. There is no independence in the 
economy of God ; — all are ministers of His manifold 
designs, and fellows-laborers in accomplishing the ob- 
jects for which they were created. Between the office 
performed by the algge and the necessities of man 
there exists, as we have seen, an important and highly 
interesting relation. ISot less so is that which we 
maintain with the worm beneath our feet. The one 
gathers up the materials which are scattered through 
the vast ocean, and deposits them on the shore, w^here 
they fertilize and enrich the soil ; while the other pu- 
rifies that soil by extracting all injurious substances. 
And all this is done for man, for whom everything 
seems to have been created. To supply his wants and 
gratify his desires, a teeming world empties its rich 
profusion at his feet. To soften and ennoble his 
character, the music of a thousand spheres exhausts its 
melody. 

" If the heart, too confidently raised, 
Perchance too lightly occupied, or lulled 
Too easily, despise or overlook 
The vassalage that binds her to the earth, 
Her sad dependence upon time, and all 
The trepidations of mortality, 



258 LAW OF EXPANSION. 

What place so destitute and void — but there 

The little flower her vanity shall check— 

The trailing worm reprove her thoughtless pride ?" 

All the natural laws, wliether connected with the 
force of attraction, the size, axis, and revolution of the 
earth ; the proportion of land and water ; mountain 
and valley ; the composition of the earth, or the at- 
mosphere that surrounds it ; or of heat and cold, more 
or less affect the physical, intellectual, and moral 
character of man. This intimate relation, this brother- 
hood of agencies, imposes certain restraints upon 
each one, and corresponding penalties for their viola- 
tion. In our simplest exertions a hundred laws are 
involved, like so many wlieels in a machine, and the 
most perfect harmony in their action is essential to 
success. If it were not for the laws of gravitation 
and repulsion we could not walk, yet these depend on 
the relative magnitude of the earth and our bodies. 
The depth of tlie atmosphere determines the con- 
dition of our fluids, and the resistance of our blood- 
vessels ; while our res^^iration and exhalation are re- 
gulated b}^ its weight, moisture and temperature. 

There is one more general law to which we desire 
to call attention ; we allude to that by which the ex- 
pansive power of all fluids, and most of the solid 
bodies of our globe, is regulated. Heated atmos- 
phere rises as water does, when the latter is converted 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 259 

into steam. By this law we are relieved from the 
carbonic acid gas thrown off in respiration, which 
would prove injurious if re-inhaled. It is heated, and 
therefore lighter, and as soon as it is respired or 
thrown off, it rises in obedience to this law, while a 
pnrer atmosphere is forced do^m bj its weight, to be 
inhaled. If it were not for this law, and others which 
contribute to produce the constant action which is g( >- 
ing on in the atmosphere, serious difficulties might take 
place from the respiration of a stagnant and poisonous 
air. To this law, we are also indebted for our rains, 
with the innumerable blessings which they secure. 
But there are limits to this, as there are to all natural 
laws ; and in this case, the limitation is as important 
as the law itself. Water is evaporated by heat, and 
the vapor ascends ; hence the phenomena of clouds ; it 
is also condensed by cold, hence our rains and snow ; 
but it is condensed by cold to a certain point only, 
after which it is expanded. It has been ascertained 
by experiment that forty degrees is the mean point, 
and that water expands when above or below that 
degree. 

The necessity of these laws is most striking, and 
the result of their action, a most convincing evidence, 
not only of the prescience, but of the wisdom and 
goodness of the great Ckeating Powee. If ice were 
heavier than water, it would sink as fast as formed on 



260 OTJK LAKES AND EIVEKS. 

the surface, and unless it was thawed as rapidly as it 
was formed, the sinking layers would soon fill up cm- 
lakes and rivers with solid bodies of ice. This, it 
is almost unnecessary to add, would soon destroy all 
animate matter in them. It is therefore as important 
that water should expand when frozen, as it is that 
vapor and heated atmosphere should rise. If the 
vapor did not rise we would have no rain or snow, — 
no springs and rivers, and as a consequence, no vege- 
tation. If water did not expand when frozen, we 
would have no lakes and rivers, though w^e might 
have rains and snows ; it is true they might exist for 
a short season, but for all the great purposes of life 
they would fail. Thus we see the imjDortance of this 
general law, and the no less important limit to its 
action, by the specially adapted law of expansion in 
the case of ice. 

Thus far we have grouped together, in one general 
view, a few of the most interesting phenomena : 
showing or attempting to show the relation they sus- 
tain to each other, and how the phenomenon of life 
itself depends on the continued and harmonious 
action of the multiplied physical forces, which keeps 
the various parts of the vast machinery in motion. 
In this view many of the most mysterious agents have 
not been referred to, because their connection and 
nature could not be explained in a work of this cha- 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 261 

racter. "We have not noticed that mighty net-work 
of electricity and magnetism which constitutes the 
nervous system of our planet ; an invisible and irre- 
sistible agent which pervades all nature ; " which cir- 
culates through all the organs of plants and animals, 
and acting on the nerves, promotes the circulation of 
the organic juices ; which flashes from the thunder 
cloud ; illumines the wide canop}^ ; draws iron to 
iron and directs the silent recurring march of the 
guiding needle ;" lights the north with the changing 
and varied colors of the aurora ; keeps the different 
particles of the earth's surface in an unceasing action 
by the exchange of properties ; " sustains a manifest 
relation to all phenomena of the distribution of heat, 
of the pressure of the atmosphere, and its disturb- 
ances ;" which is now the defence of the South Ameri- 
can eel, and now the fearful presiding spirit of the 
approaching storm. We know, however, that the 
agency of this mysterious element is important and 
indispensable ; and that it also must have been adapted 
to, and created for, the performance of these various 
offices in the system. 

Truly, all the elements and laws in nature, sustain 
an intimate relation to each other ; all have appro- 
priate duties to perforai ; and it is doubtful whether 
the action of the least and a23parently the most useless 

agent in the vast domain of God, can be dispensed 
12 



262 MAX^S EXALTED POSITIOX. 

with. The venomous insect beneath our feet, and the 
noblest and best of our domestic animals ; the terrible 
forces of the earth, the tornado and volcano ; the 
gently murmuring spring, and the boisterous ocean ; 
the forest monarch and the pale forget-me-not within 
its shade, are all witnesses of creative Powee, and 
ministers of good. Man, to whom the distinguishing 
characteristics of reason and free-will have been 
given, is the only unfaithful servant. Everything 
else performs a part, and performs it well. He only 
fails to perform the high mission to which he has 
been appointed by the great Ceeatoe. The grand 
forces of nature have been committed to his care. 
To him. the sea has been given as a pathway for 
connnercial intercourse ; and the elements made obe- 
dient to his will. At his touch the heavens are 
kindled with electric fire ; and then, again, the same 
fierce element is sent a quiet messenger to do liis 
bidding. But these powers have been given to him 
for the noblest purposes and best interests of his 
species ; that he may best relieve the poor, comfort 
the sorrowing, aid the distressed, teach the ignorant, 
and reform the vicious. And thus, although his 
endowments are incalculably great, they are not 
more than commensurate with his important duties. 
They are, however, sufficient for all the purposes of 
life ; and if properly observed and wrought, they 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 263 

will brighten his pathway as he approaches the con- 
iines of this, and safely light him into the far-off silent 
land whither he goes, 

'• Into the silent land ! 
To you, ye boundless regions 
Of all perfection ! Tender morning visions 
Of beauteous souls ! The future's pledge and band 
Who in life's battle firm doth stand 
Shall bear hope's tender blossoms 
Into the silent land !" 

In these remarks on the Physical Geogkaphy of 
our planet, we have repeatedly referred the existence 
of phenomena to an invisible but all-powerful cause, 
without and above the various physical agents which 
w^e have noticed. The division and distribution of 
the continental and oceanic elements ; the analogous 
forms and arrangements of the continents and their 
reliefs ; the harmonious action of the multiplied 
forces and agents of nature ; the importance of the 
atmosphere, and the laws which make it the medium 
of exchange between the solid and fluid parts of our 
planet, and the local and highly important compen- 
sations by which the te-ndency of general kws is 
limited or controlled, cannot be explained by any 
proximate cause. The importance of these arrange- 
ments and the adaptation of the different agents to 



-^^ CONTINENTAL ANALOGIES. 

each other, and tlie harmony of the ever-acting and 
reacting forces, which constitute the life of our phmet, 
point us to some ulterior cause for the explanation we 
seek. If the existing continental forms were less 
intimately connected with the laws by which the 
other elements are controlled, and less essential intlie 
economy of life, the evidence of orio^inal desiirn 
which they furnish would fail to convince the mind, 
however analogous they might be in themselves. 
Certain analogies might exist between continents 
tliruwn up to their position by the same indeterminate 
force; but that these analogies should exist just 
where they are required, and that contrasts should be 
found wlierever location or climate makes them 
essential, cuuld not be expected without the agency 
of some designing intelligence. If a single note of 
discord could be heard, or an irregular movement 
detected in the vast domain of nature, then in some 
degree would we be excusable for seeking the pri- 
mary cause of all these forces and forms, in a power 
less perfect than the Omnipotent and Oinnipresent 
Creator. But we are not thus left to gro]:>e our way 
through discordant and conflicting elements; there 
are no exceptions to these general laws, which are 
not as important as the laws themselves ; no discords 
in the great song of creation^ all is grand, and full, 
and harmonious. The " sensitive and reverent ear'- 



PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHV. 265 

of nature's votary, is ever cheered with the perpetual 
music of her countless encourao:ino^ voices. 

The unequally woven carpet of flowers and plants 
with which the earth is covered as with a garment, 
minister alike to the wants of animal life, and the 
exquisite sensibilities of the refined and intellectual ; 
while every department and recess of nature teems 
with animal existence, which is equally important, 
and infinitely more interesting. Far down in the 
bowels of the earth, where light can scarcely pene- 
trate, and high above the region of perpetual snow^, 
the chosen abode of the giant condor, the almost 
ceaseless hum of busy life may be heard, and its 
various changes distinctly traced. From the little 
aniraalcula with its existence of a moment, up through 
the multiplied grades and forms of life, to the intel- 
lectual sovereign, whose spiritual part, at least, is 
inseparably interwoven with things eternal. 

Each step we take in this mighty tem23le of varied 
organisms, at the head of which, and as the crowning 
piece, man, the noblest of created beings, has been 
placed, suggests new inquiries, which, unanswered, 
turn back upon the startled imagination, arousing 
the dormant faculties of the soul to contemplations of 
a higher order. But these things only invite the 
faltering footsteps onward in the vast field of inquiry. 
However much there may be to startle the timid, and 



2G6 QUESTIONS UNANSWERED. 

discourage the indolent, there is nothing whicli is 
calculated to cool the ardor or limit the desire of the 
anxious student; although ihe point to whicli he 
vainly aspires is constantly receding before him. 
" The strain of music from the lyre of science flows 
on, rich and sweet, full and harmonious, but never 
reaches a close ; no cadence is heard with which the 
intellectual ear can feel satisfied. . . . The idea 
of some closing strain seems to lurk among our own 
thoughts, waiting to be articulated in the notes 
which flow from the knowledge of external nature. 
The idea of something ultimate in our philoso])hical 
researches, something in whicli the mind can acqui- 
esce, and which will leave us no further questions to 
ask oi ichcnce^ and 7/7/ y, and by what j^ower^ seems as 
if it belonged to us ; as if we could not have it with- 
held from us by any imperfection or incompleteness 
in the actual j^erformance of science. AVhat is the 
meaning of this conviction? What is the reality 
thus anticipated ? AVhither does the development of 
this idea conduct us ?" 

This conviction is one of the highest to which we 
can attain, and seems to belong to that part of us 
which reaches out into the unknown future whither it 
conduct us, and the reality of which it dimly reflects, 
as light from behind the distant hill-tops, into the 
valley of life. Of these deeply interesting matters, 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 267 

rnnoli is already known from the phenomena which 
we have described ; but the most interesting and 
perhaps tlie most important questions are yet unan- 
swered ; many of which will not, cannot be known to 
finite beings. Beyond the liorizon that binds our 
vision, and there only, will such questions be satisfac- 
torily answered. Thitlier with anxious eyes and 
trembling steps ; with deeper interest and increasing 
humility and reverence, let us advance. There surel}^, 
if not before, these mysterious questions will be ex- 
plained, and a more perfect revelation of the glories 
which are seen now through an obscured and imper- 
fect vision only, will be made when the material veil 
is removed from the grand, still mirror of eternity. 



CONCLUSION. 

In the aiTangement of the phenomena to which we 
have referred, we have endeavored to show the con- 
nection which exists between them, and their mntual 
dependence on each other ; as well as the harmony 
which appears through, and in, every part of the vast 
machinery. Each part is linked with and bound to 
every other part ; and the miglity whole dej^ends 
alike upon the greatest and the least of its constituent 
elements. The falling feather attracts the earth in 
proportion to its weight, and the sound of a single 
word may vibrate through the universe. 

This well-ordered connection and consequent har- 
mony between the various physical agents, and the 
general adaptation of animate and inanimate, of 
vegetable and animal matter, clearly prove the action 
of an Intelligent Creator, who not only foreknew 
the necessity of each part, but created that necessity, 
and established the laws by which the action of each 



CONCLUSION. 269 

member is to be directed and controlled. There was 
no accident in all this — no fortuitous beo-innino- 
either of animate or inanimate matter, and therefore 
there can be no fortuitous ending. The same iNFiNriE 
Hand stays the tides, and binds the oceans to their 
beds — directs each distant orb in all its movements, 
and holds the varied systems in harmony together. 

The planets were destined to pursue certain fixed 
pathways in the fields of space, and therefore, if de- 
flected by some collateral power, that power is coun- 
teracted by some other potency, by which the wan- 
dering planet is swung back into its appointed orbit. 
If the earth is drawn into a dangerous proximity to 
the sun during its revolution, the heat of that body 
is avoided by the incKnation of the earth's axis, and 
by the law of gravity, which increases its motion as 
it apj^roaches the great central luminary of our system. 

Withoiit some compensation, the equatorial j)arts 
of the earth's smface would be barren and uninhabit- 
able wastes ; but they are redeemed from this con- 
dition by the arrangement of the continental and 
oceanic elements, the atmospheric laws, and their 
own elevation, — conditions which we have seen are 
indispensable to the present character of om- climates. 
The solar rays might distil vapor out of the ocean, 

and the winds might bear it over the continents ; but, 
12> 



270 GRAVITATION. 

without tbe present constitution of tlie atniospliere, 
bj which it is lighter and cokler in the upper strata, 
and the elevation of mountains and mountain-chains, 
])y which it is forced up into the colder regions, 
where it is condensed into rain, and then precipitated 
upon the continental element, the grand ends effected 
by it, and for which it was ordained, would not be 
accomplished. Thus our rains, which appear so 
simple and natural, are the result of many concurring 
phenomena, and depend upon the constitution of the 
atmosphere, and the oceanic element, the influence 
of the solar rays, and the irregular elevation of the 
earth's surface. 

But this inclination of the earth's axis — this ar- 
rangement of the two elements under the equator, 
and the elevation of the continental ]-)art — and these 
mountains and mountain-chains, are wholly arbitrary. 
Tliere is no necessity in their own organization for 
the conditions which they observe. They might have 
been diflerent, from any natural law known to man. 
Xor is there any physical cause for the particular 
formation of the continents, or their arranofement in 
pairs, or their elevation as they approach the south ; 
yet we have seen that these conditions are important, 
if not indispensable in the economy of our globe. 
Gravitation explains the varied movements — the 
revolutions and inclinations of the planetary bodies. 



coNCLrsioN. 271 

and secures the stability of the system ; but there is 
Qothing of that kind to act upon or control inmuuer- 
able important agencies more immediately connected 
with the development of animate matter on the 
planet we inhabit. 

The atmosphere is adapted to the diffusion of light 
and heat, and on its action all living beings depend : 
while the laws connected with it, keep the aerial 
envelope of om- globe in a constant motion, by which 
many beautiful and necessary compensations are 
secured to local climates. Yet, there is no necessity 
for this envelope in any of the motions of our globe, 
or in any of the relations it sustains in the solar sys- 
tem ; nor has the searching eye of science been able 
to detect its origin or cause. It is also connected with 
the various changes of the earth's surface. By it the 
vapors which supply the running streams with water 
are carried from the oceans to the interior, and through 
them many of the changes on the eartli's surface are 
effected. It also contains the elements out of which 
all vegetables are fashioned, and thus supplies the 
means for restoring the wasted soil. In this way, the 
waste of the external elements is compensated by the 
internal agencies, and the demands of the organisms 
\\4thout are supplied from the unfathomable depths 
within. 

"We have seen how the solar light acts upon the 



272 RESTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS. 

vegetable kingdom, and how its different rajs are 
ada]>ted to tlieir seasons of growth and matnrity. 
And also, how the division and arrangement of the 
continental mass harmonize with the atmospheric 
laws, and how the action and reaction of the two ele- 
ments contribnte to that necessary balance, in which 
not only the prosperity, bnt the happiness of man is 
involved. Without any further enmneration of these 
sjiecial adaptations, it must appear to all, that each 
agent in nature is connected more or less intimately 
with every other agent ; and tliat the present relation 
and condition of things depend on the concurrent 
action of all. Nothing: is wantinir, nor can anvthino^ 
be dispensed with. There is no confusion or antagon- 
ism to be found among these various agents and ele- 
ments. Harmony is the law by which they are 
governed, and universal good the object of all their 
actions. 

These limitations and balances are not confined 
to the physical forces alone. They extend through 
the veejetable and animal kino^doms also. Yeo^e- 
tables limit the growth of each other, and aninials 
restrain the growth of the entire kingdom. But 
if insects and animals were not limited by the de- 
stropng propensities of each other, the vegetable 
kingdom would be swept away in a season. Every 
plant has its particular insect, which preys upon it^ 



coNCLrsioN. 273 

and thus retards its growth and limits its multiplica- 
tion. Grasses have their ^^/^^Zf^^ic^ graminis to check 
their growth. The fir-cone has \U phalcena stroUlella, 
whicli would prove ruinous to the whole species, 
were it not for the cunning ichiumon stroUlella, 
wliich destroys them by depositing its eggs in tlio 
young caterpiHar, with its long tail Animals also 
teed upon eacli other, hy which means a dangerous 
increase is avoided ; and the insect creation is kept 
within the limits of safety. Were they permitted to 
increase for a single season without restraint, the 
whole earth would fall before the insect army. By 
laying the earth waste, and leaving it barren and 
uninhabitable, they would prove themselves migh- 
tier than Xerxes with all his armed men ; and more 
successful in destroying than Alexander or Napoleon ! 
The busy fly, which appears so useless in its constant 
activity, is all the time performing some important 
mission ; and insects whicli are unable to do any 
positive good, prevent others from doing injury.- 

This mighty mechanism of innumerable parts could 
not be sustained for a single moment, without the su- 
pervision of the presiding Intelligence which resolved 
its plan and adapted its various members to each 
other. Influences and laws may exist, and existing 
by the appointment of the supreme Akchitect, they 
may perform the ofiices for which they were originally 

* See Appendix — Note A. 



274 LIMIT TO nUMAX KXOAVLEDGE. 

designed, but tlieyare means only in the liands of the 
Infinite Creator ; and as such, tliev require His con- 
stant supervision. lie who cr.eated all things seems 
to have reserved to himself an invisible part of each 
separate creation. Tlie smallest and the greatest con- 
tain something which cannot be comprehended by 
man. There is a limit to all human knowledge, be- 
yond which all is involved in mystery. This is true of 
all parts, whether distant from us or near to us. The 
distant stars, so remote that it recpiires centuries for 
their light to travel to our planet, are almost as well 
understood as the sphere we inhalnt. The planets 
have been measured, and their weight determined ; 
and the geography of the moon lias been written out 
with as much accuracy as that of any of our conti- 
nents. The invisiljle power which binds the innu- 
nierable systems together as one mighty family and 
forces them into reciprocal action, has been de- 
tected, and made the key to explain the mysterious 
movements of the heavenly bodies. The winds have 
been interrogated, and their origin, object, and des- 
tiny ascertained ; and the invisible electric agent has 
been reduced to servitude, and made the means of 
communicating thought over vast territories and to dis- 
tant lands. The physical forms of organised beings 
have been traced into their minutest parts, and fol- 
lowed down to their earliest stages ; and their resem- 



CONCLUSION. 275 

blances and distinctions fully registered. But we 
find, great as these achievements are, and worthy too 
of the distinction which man so proudly bears above 
the creation around him, that they are limited. In 
each case there is something beyond the reach of hu- 
man intellisrence. The dim outlines of knowledo:e 
have been gradually extended by the labors of the 
few great minds, which have successively marked the 
epochs of learnhig and science ; but there is a depth 
of mystery without cliat circle, which they have not 
been able to fathom. 

Enough, however, has been made known to man, 
tlirougli the grandeur of the natural agencies, and 
their harmonious and beneficial action, to inspire a 
faith in the infinite power and goodness of the Gkeat 
Creator. Against these manifestations, the atheist 
has exhausted his energy withont effecting a single 
breach in the battlements. Each stroke of his ham- 
mer brought out the fire of some latent truth ; and 
every step he advanced into the unexplored territory, 
introduced him to additional witnesses. This revolv- 
ing planet, moving on its pathway with a remarkable 
and fearful rapidity, and the distant planets, beaming 
down upon ns with their bright and cheerful faces, and 
the mysterious potencies which work out the behests 
(.^f the Creator, all seem, in their silent grandeur, to 
mock at his presumption. The lightnings of heaven 



276 THE SACRED KECORD. 

reprimand liim, while the ocean thunders back his 
falsehood. 

The apparent contradictions between the Mosaic 
Cosmogony and the natural record, resulted, as we 
have seen, from imperfect data, and hasty generali- 
zations. As soon as genius succeeded in arming the 
astronomer with instruments of greater space-pene- 
trating power, and time and labor had more per- 
fectly unfolded the fossil records of the earth, the 
contradictions disappeared. The true j^hilosopher 
was then enabled to show the intimate relation be- 
tween every part of nature's varied elements, and 
their perfect agreement with the ins2:)ired history. 
Then, and not until that time, were the sons of science 
able to indicate the true pathway, and point the trav- 
eller up through the clouds and darkness of preceding 
errors, to the great source of all life and all beauty. 

Truths barely alluded to in the sacred pages, have 
been demonstrated by science. We are taught in 
the inspired history, that the Almighty Creator 
caused the waters under the heaven to be gathered 
together unto one place, and made the dry land 
appear ; and geology also teaches us that there was a 
time when the waters covered portions of the earth 
Avhich are now dry, and that changes have been 
effected by the sj^irit moving over the face of the 
waters. We are taught also, that at the Divine 



CONCLUSION. 277 

Mandate the earth brought forth grass and herbs 
yielding seed, and fruit trees yielding fruit after their 
kind. And that God saw that all these were good, 
and then set up the firmament of the heavens with 
lights to rule the day and the night ; and made the 
signs for the seasons, and for days and years. That 
after the fourth period of time, He bid the waters 
bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that 
have life, and fowls to fly above the earth in the ojjen 
firmament of heaven. It is written that God then 
created whales and other living creatures which the 
waters brought forth. The fifth grand epoch was then 
closed ; and the sixth commenced with the creation 
of cattle, and the creeping things and beasts of the 
earth, which were made after their kind, and were 
ofood in the sisiht of their Creator. After these God 
created man in His own image, to whom He gave 
the dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the 
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the 
earth, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon 
the earth. And He blessed male and female, and 
bid them be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the 
earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over all 
things. These are the successive steps in the crea- 
tion, attested not only by the word of revelation, but 
by nature's widespread record. 
To man, the Great Ceeatoe gave the dominion of 



278 TRUTH OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

all things ; and we find him gradnally asserting his 
power. The existence of the electric fluid was known 
to the sacred writers. They spoke of it as pervading 
all space and all bodies, and as kindling the heavens 
with fire, l)y which the Almighty traced his pathway 
in the thunder, and regulated the course of the tem- 
pests. It is but recently, however, that man has 
asserted his control over this element, and made it 
do his bidding. Solomon said, " that God gave to 
the air its weight, and to the waters their just mea- 
sure ;" yet it was not until recently that science 
proved the air to be a ponderable body, and learned 
the just measure of the waters. Job first announced 
the existence of a central fire in the earth; and 
science proves it by the natural phenomena dis- 
covered. 

When Ilerschel said, '' that all human discoveries 
seem to be made only for the pmi)ose of confirming 
more strongly the truths contained in the sacred writ- 
ings," he fully recognized the relation which exists 
between the truths of revelation and the discoveries 
of science. What was then uttered by a bold mind 
with timidity, is now kno's\Ti to every intelligent 
reader. The book of revelation and the book of 
natm-e, were written by the same Infinite and Unerr- 
ing Hand ; and each day adds some new proof ot 
their Divine origin. As science interprets the sacred 



CONCLIJSION. 2Y9 

record, its truths are better understood, and their in- 
fluence more deeply felt. The two voices; the one 
from above, the other from beneath and around us, 
seem to unite ; but, notwithstanding all space and all 
matter are full of their eloquence, man has been slow 
to understand their language, and reluctant to ac- 
knowledge the truths which thev unitedly teach. 

From the worm of the dust, the simple flower of 
the field, and the timid songster of the forest, to the 
globe we inhabit, and u^) through the innumerable 
worlds that shine above our heads, reflecting the image 
of each other in the grand, still mirror of infinity, 
traces of the same all-pervading, eternal wisdom are 
seen. Man himself, more mysterious than all else- 
grander than the star-bespangled firmament — highest 
of all created matter; whose eternal part is connected 
with all ages, and enables him to grasp the whole, 
and will live in the freshness of its youth when all 
else shall have passed away ; seems to have been the 
last and the greatest act of creative energy. To him 
has been given the power to unlock the mysterious 
recesses of the world and read their secret records — 
to survey the extent and wonders of the universe, and 
also to appreciate its varied beauties. And it is 
these distino-uishino^ characteristics, which finallvlead 
his inquiring mind to the true and only source of all 



280 THE AEGUMENT. 

things — that makes the philosopher, and converts his 
labors into a ministry of good. 

Thus, we have arrived at conclusions directly op- 
posed to those of the advocates of Transmutation and 
development. It is true, tliey profess to believe in 
the existence of an All-wise Deity, but they deny 
that He exerts any immediate influence in uphold- 
ing the universe, or in jierpetuating the multitudinous 
parts. These important offices they assign to general 
Laws, which were stamped upon all tilings in the be- 
ginning. To these laws, they contend, the destiny of 
matter has been committed. Through their agency 
all organisms are built up, and also destroyed. They 
rule and regulate the infinitely complex machinery 
without the supervision of any Superior Power. 

Man, according to tliis theory, need not hope for 
any exemption from the established laws, — he need 
not struggle to improve himself or his S2:)ecie3 ; 
through a certain stage of existence he must pass, 
subject to certain rules, and without any sympathy 
from a merciful Creator, to whom he has been 
directed to offer his morning and evening orisons. 
'No overruling Providence notes his grovellings in the 
dust, or smiles with approbation on his nobler aspira- 
tions. 

To these theorists, the story of the pillar of fire by 
night and cloud by day, is all a fable ; and the his- 



CONCLUSIO^^ 281 

tory of Calvary, the offspring of the imagination. 
They, however, encourage ns with the hope that a 
faith may be drawn from their theory, sufficient to 
sustain us in all the difficulties and trials of life. 
But they forget that this faith must be found, if at 
all, in a theory which denies all the attributes of the 
Superior Being, — that contradicts the eternal truths 
from which the hopes of life issue, as well as that 
far-reaching faith that extends beyond the difficulties 
of this sphere of being, into the bright realities of an 
infinitely higher and purer one. A theory which de- 
nies the parental care of an ever watchful and mer- 
ciful Creator, whose unalterable covenant is written 
on the firmament, and without whose notice not a 
hair of the head is permitted to fall, — at whose bid- 
ding water burst from the rock, manna fell from 
heaven, and the sea rolled back her tide, until the 
devoted host had left their native land, then heaved 
an ocean on their march below. A theory that denies 
all accountability, by degrading mankind to the cha- 
racter of advanced reptiles, and regulates morals by 
law — that destroys every hope held out by the sacred 
record — that blasts all the fruits of faith, but offers 
nothing consoling in their stead. Upon what place 
are we to rest ? "Where are we to find the elements of 
a sufficient faith ? — where the consolations which are 



2 82 A SUFFICIENT FAITH. 

to keep i:p the sinking heart ? — and where tlie lessons 
of warning to the oppressor ? 

'None of these important elements can be found 
within their theory. They hear no voice to encourage 
them in the trials of life — have no parental heart to 
yearn over them, sympathising with them in their 
sorrow, and comforting them in their distress. Lost 
'mid the grandeur of natural phenomena, and trem- 
bling before tlieir potencies, these theorists find but 
little to encourage them in their struggle here, and 
nothing to support and bless them, when tliat struggle 
ceases. 

It is more agreeable to our feelings to look up to 
God as a kind and merciful Ckeatoe, who loves, pities, 
and protects us. This view of the Infinfie and the 
Eternal does furnish a faith sufficient to sustain us 
in all the difficulties of life— a faith that cannot be 
annihilated — one which has suiwived the buffetings 
of ignorance — the persecutions of malice — the prison, 
the scafibld — the cross, and the grave ; w4th it we are 
content, and shall wait the end with patience, and be 
of good cheer. 



NOTE " A" TO PAGE 273. 

In lllnstration of onr remarks, we have the pleasure of inserting an extract from 
the works of Micliaelis, to which our attention has been directed by tlie excellent 
work of the Eev. Dr. Mathews, on " The Bible and Civil Government." 

" In this matter tiie letrislator should take a lesson from the naturalist. Linnseus, 
whom all will alhjw to be a i)erfect master in the science of Natural History, has 
made the above remark in his dissertation, entitled Ilistoria Katuralis cut Bono ! 
and pives two remarkable examples to confirm it ; the one in the case of the Ziitlo 
Crow of Virginia, extirpated at great expense, on accountof its supposed destruc- 
tive etlocts, and wliich the inliabitants would soon gladly have re-introduced at 
double expense. The account of the circumstance is given in the Hanover Maga- 
zine, for the year 17G7, as follows :— ' In the English colonies of North America, it 
was remarked that a certain sort of crow frequented the pea-fields ; and in order to 
put a stop to its ravages forever, its utter extirpation was resolved on, Buttliis was 
no sooner ctt'octed. than an insect of the beetle kind, which had always been known 
also to do some mischief to the peas, multiplied to such a degi-ee that very few peas 
were left. An intelligent naturalist thought this occurrence worth investigating, 
an<l that the crows were not inquest of peas, but only devouring these beetles; and, 
of course, tiiat had they not been extirpated, these insects could not have increased 
so much, and the crops of peas would have been more abundant. At somewhat less 
expense tiie same truth was, sometime since, confirmed in Sweden. The common 
crow was thought to be too fond of the j^ouns roots of grass, being observed same- 
times to pick them out and lay them bare. Orders were therefotegiven to the peo- 
ple to bo at all pains to extirpate them, till some person, more judicious, opposed 
this, and showed that it was not the roots of the grass, but the destructive cater- 
pillars of certain insects which fed on them, that the crows searched for and 
devoured."' 

"Every one knows what vexation sparrows occasion to the owners of gardens and 
corn-fields. In the year 174o, fields were not unfrequently to be seen socompletely 
destroyed, that scarcely tlie seed remained: and in the gardens which they haunt, 
they i)ick tiie peas wlien tlie\- spring out of the earth, with such avidity, that a crop 
cannot be raised. Their excessive multiplication, therefore, ought certainly to be 
prevented; and it is tlie right and interest of every householder to extirpate them 
on his pro[)erty. As tiie mischief they did, about thirty years ago, was so very 
great, particularly in Prussia, where tlie laws take more concern in matters of 
economy than in other countries, there took place, if I rightly remember, at the in- 
stigation of a person whose name was Kretechmar, such a violent persecution of 
tlie sparrows in Prussia, as if their utter extirpation had been determined on. This 
persecution was Just, but it was carried too far, for Kretechmar was too great an 
enemy to the sparrows; being, indeed, a good economist, as far as a good head, 
witliout study, could make him so, but then quite unacquainted with Natural History. 
And the effects of his ignorance soon appeared ; for caterpillars multiplied to such 
a pitch, that it was found necessary to put a stop to the persecution of the 
sparrows." 

" It is quite a well-known circumstance, that in the year 1761, after the conclusion 
of the war, when the sparrows in that corner withdrew far from the city into the 
fields, because among tiie gi-eat quantity of spilled corn they found superabundance 
of food, it was impossible to protect the" gardens about Gottingen from the depre- 
dations of the caterpillar. 

In North America another evil has been found to result from destroying too 
many of tliese birds. The gnats increased to such a degree, especially in moist 
places, that the peoi)le and tlie cattle were haiTassed by them much more than 
formerly. Tliese examples serve pretty strongly to show, that, in respect at least to 
birtLs, w"e ousht to place as much confidence in the wisdom and kindness of nature, 
as not rashly to extirpate any species which she has established in a country as a 
great and, perhaps, indispensable blessing." 



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